Mandatory separate collection of textiles in the EU from 1 January 2025

From 1 January 2025, separate collection of textile waste applies in all EU Member States. The requirement results from amendments to the Waste Framework Directive adopted in 2018 and supplements the obligation to collect bio-waste separately, which has applied throughout the EU since 1 January 2024. Although textiles are not a substrate for biogas plants, they affect them indirectly, because they change the composition of the mixed waste stream and of the biodegradable fraction.

What the law requires

The directive obliges Member States to organise separate collection of textiles so that they are suitable for reuse or recycling. In practice this means collection points in municipalities (PSZOK, municipal selective waste collection points), containers in public spaces and cooperation with organisations dealing with the reuse of clothing. The collection obligation itself, however, contains no recycling targets or financing mechanisms – these are to be brought by the revision of the directive, on which negotiations are under way, introducing mandatory extended producer responsibility schemes for textiles and footwear.

Why this matters in the context of bio-waste

Textiles, especially contaminated ones, ending up in mixed waste and bio-waste bins, hinder mechanical pretreatment. In bio-waste biogas plants, clothing fibres wrap around agitators and pumps, causing downtime and servicing costs. Developing separate collection of textiles therefore reduces operational risk. From the point of view of the circular economy, textiles are a stream that is only now building its sorting and recycling infrastructure, so time is needed for markets for the recovered materials to emerge.

Significance for the industry in Poland

Polish municipalities are obliged to run separate collection of municipal waste and PSZOK points, and many of them are only now expanding the offer to include textiles. Operators of bio-waste plants should note that municipalities are under cost pressure: increasing the number of fractions collected separately raises system costs but improves the quality of the remaining streams. In contracts for the collection of bio-waste it is worth including clauses on the permissible level of contamination and on how contaminated batches are handled.

What next

The next stage is the conclusion of negotiations on the revision of the Waste Framework Directive, which is to introduce mandatory EPR schemes for textiles and binding food waste reduction targets. Together with the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the deposit system planned in Poland, this will be another change to the financing structure of waste management, affecting the cost of municipal services and the prices of secondary raw materials.