Recycling Textiles: Avena’s Take on the UK’s 10-Year Plan
The newly released UK National Textile Recycling Infrastructure Plan (2025-2035) is a bold blueprint for transforming how the UK handles textile waste. With over 3 million tonnes of post-consumer textiles generated annually, and nearly half ending up incinerated or landfilled, the need for systematic change is urgent.
At Avena , we’ve long championed a smarter, more sustainable approach to textile waste. This plan validates what we’ve known for years: the UK needs domestic infrastructure, innovation, and collaboration to unlock the full potential of circular textiles.
Here’s what you need to know, and how Avena is already helping businesses stay ahead of the curve.
The Plan’s Four Pillars
Infrastructure:
- Investment in UK-based collection, sorting, and recycling facilities
- Avena is already ahead of the curve with five processing sites, including two opened in the last two years, enabling localised remanufacturing and closed-loop solutions.
Market Viability:
- Creating demand for recycled materials and profitable models for reuse.
- We help brands repurpose non-reusable textiles into valuable materials; such as insulation, reinforced concrete and more. Turning waste into opportunity.
Skills & Technology:
- Upskilling the workforce and investing in AI, automation, and smart waste tech.
- Avena sorts through the waste to maximise recovery.
Policy & Collaboration:
- Driving change through regulation, partnerships, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR).
- Avena are already working with forward-thinking brands to build takeback schemes and prepare for EPR compliance.
Key Challenges the Plan Aims to Solve
- High incineration rate: over 50% of textiles are burned. Avena offers more sustainable approaches where possible.
- Fragmented supply chains: at Avena we provide a full audit trail and Certificate of Destruction.
- Low demand for recycled content: until fibre-to-fibre recycling becomes commercially scalable, we we advocate for open-loop solutions as a pragmatic interim step—supporting viable pathways that prevent textiles from going to waste, even if they don’t retain fibre value.
- Lack of sorting infrastructure: proper sorting is critical. Avena’s pre-destruction grading ensures maximum material recovery.
- Misconceptions about capacity: the UK has capacity, what’s missing is commitment. Due to ongoing investment in expanding our facilities, we’re able to work with brands of any size to securely destroy and repurpose textile quantities at any scale.
What’s Coming by 2030
The UKFT’s 2030 report highlights key priorities for the UK fashion and textiles industry, including the development of industry-wide collection infrastructure, eco-design regulations, and increased support for innovation.
- Industry-wide collection infrastructure
- Eco-design regulations
- Funding R&D and SME innovation
Avena is already innovating, bootstrapped and leading the way in building the systems others are still planning.
By 2035, the UK Aims to
- Expand fibre-to-fibre recycling
- Invest in domestic spinning capacity
- Integrate recycled content into high-value sectors
We’re not waiting for 2035, we’re building the future now.
It’s Time to Rethink “Waste”
Textile waste isn’t just an environmental issue, it’s a resource management challenge. With the right partners, mindset, and infrastructure, it becomes a circular opportunity.
At Avena, we offer more than just textile disposal, we offer peace of mind. Our SecureBrand® solution guarantees 100% diversion from landfill, safeguards your brand’s intellectual property, and provides a Certificate of Destruction for full compliance and traceability. It’s a smarter, safer way to manage end-of-life textiles, without compromise.
Interesting in learning more about our services? Speak to one of our experts today.
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