AI generated picture. Source Freepik

Taking a leaf from Europe’s playbook, India is beginning to ramp up its approach to textile waste—an area that has long remained on the margins of formal recycling. While European countries are moving toward separate collection systems and EPR-led accountability, India’s discarded clothing and fabric still largely flow through fragmented, low-value channels, often handled by informal networks or ending up in landfills.

In Navi Mumbai, the municipal corporation is now trying to build a system that treats textile waste as something that can be recovered, sorted, and brought back into the economy.

Building the chain, not just a facility

At the centre of this effort is a Textile Recovery Facility (TRF) set up in Belapur under the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban 2.0. But the initiative is less about a single facility and more about stitching together an end-to-end system—from collection to processing to reuse.

The collection begins at the neighbourhood level. Textile bins have been placed across housing societies in all eight municipal wards, gradually bringing a largely invisible waste stream into formal channels. "The idea is simple: unless material is captured at source, there is little scope for recovery later", according to the government statement.

Sorting a complex waste stream

Once collected, textiles are routed to the Belapur facility, where they are weighed, logged, and sorted into categories such as reusable, recyclable, and upcyclable.

Sorting is where the complexity lies. Unlike more uniform waste streams, textiles come in mixed fibres, blends, and varying conditions. To address this, the facility is using fibre-identification tools to distinguish between materials likecotton, polyester, and wool—helping determine the most viable recovery pathway.

There is also an attempt to build traceability into the system. A digital tracking mechanism is being developed to map the movement of materials from collection to end use, a step that could become increasingly important as compliance and reporting expectations tighten.

Linking circularity with livelihoods

A key part of the model is its focus on livelihoods. Women from self-help groups have been trained in sorting and upcycling activities, and many are now earning a steady income through the initiative.

Recovered textiles are not just processed—they are converted into products such as bags, garments, and home décor items. These are then sold through exhibitions and local platforms, creating a revenue stream that feeds back into the system.

The approach attempts to formalise what has traditionally been an informal, low-margin activity, while keeping community participation at its core.

Early outcomes, evolving model

The initiative is still in its early stages, but initial numbers suggest a system beginning to take shape. Around 30 tonnes of textile waste have been collected so far, with most of it already processed. Thousands of items are being handled each week, and outreach efforts have reached over a lakh households.

There are also early signs of innovation. Lower-value textile rejects are being explored for alternative uses, including conversion into paper—pointing to efforts to minimise residual waste.

Ground-level challenges

As with most first-generation systems, the rollout has not been without its challenges. Getting housing societies to adopt textile bins has taken time. Segregation at source remains inconsistent. And blended fabrics—common in fast fashion—continue to pose sorting and recycling challenges.

These issues underline a broader reality: India’s textile waste stream is still largely unstructured, with limited infrastructure and heavy reliance on informal networks.

The municipal corporation is already planning to scale up, with a larger, dedicated facility proposed in Koparkhairane. The success of that expansion will depend on whether the city can ensure a steady supply of segregated material and build stable markets for recovered outputs.