Nordic Weave

As the EU advances its circular economy agenda, the textile sector—producing over 12.6 million tons of waste annually—has become a focus, with mandatory separate textile collection starting in January 2025. Nordic municipalities are responsible for implementation, but existing infrastructure and systems to handle post-consumer textile waste are limited. Upcoming EU policies like Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for textiles, expected by 2028, aim to address these gaps, but immediate action is needed to realize circular economy benefits. 

Currently, most Nordic textile sorting targets export, with only about 10% of collected materials sold locally, restricting access for regional circular initiatives. The absence of harmonized sorting criteria and cross-border coordination further limits scaling. A unified Nordic approach is essential to aggregate volumes, optimize logistics, and boost innovation. 

This project seeks to outline a scalable sorting model that ensures access to quality textile streams and supports aggregation for circular business models. Main activities will be to: 

• Map and analyze existing Nordic textile sorting systems and infrastructure. 

• Engage stakeholders such as municipalities, sorters, and SMEs. 

• Identify and prioritize barriers to sorting and aggregation. 

• Develop a concept note with future goals, activities, and partner roles for the project.

Partners

Wargön Innovation AB (SE, project leader), Østfold fylkeskommune (NO), Fyrbodals kommunalförbund (SE), Norsk senter for sirkulærøkonomi (NO)