Fiber and Textile Waste Utilization

Due to the growth in world population and overall improvement of living standard, global fiber consumption has been steadily increasing in the past few decades, which leads to a higher amount of post industrial and post consumer fiber waste. This paper provides an overview on fiber and textile recycling, focusing on the case of carpets, which account for a large part of textile waste. It includes a general description of fibrous waste, statistics, material characteristics (compositions) and sources. It also offers a summary on some selected recycling technologies and products from the recycling processes. Observations on future trend and needs for further development are also discussed.