MIT Engineers Develop Recyclable Stretchy Yarn to Help Reduce Textile Waste

The average American throws away about 81 pounds of clothing each year, while practical options for recycling textiles remain limited. MIT engineers are working on a new type of yarn that could make clothing easier to recycle.

A Stretchable Alternative to Spandex Blends

The new thermoplastic yarn is designed to mimic the properties of traditional elastic yarns, which typically combine spandex with polyester or nylon. Because those fibers must be separated before recycling, the process is often impractical.

The MIT team discovered a way to create similar stretchable threads from two variations of polyethylene, a material commonly used in milk bottles and grocery bags. Since both variations belong to the same chemical family, the yarn can be dissolved and recycled without separating different types of fiber.

Yarn Remains Strong After 10 Recycling Cycles

Svetlana Boriskina, a researcher in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering who led the study, said clothing made from the material could eventually be spun into new yarns for next-generation clothing.

Even after 10 cycles of melting and respinning, the polyethylene yarn remains as strong and flexible as traditional elastic yarn, according to the researchers.

Could Polyethylene Clothing Support a Circular Textile Economy?

“Now we have things that can be knitted and woven,” Boriskina says. “That’s the next stage.”

The researchers hope that, one day, polyethylene clothing will be placed in collection bins and sent to recycling facilities. This approach could help promote a more sustainable, circular textile economy while reducing clothing waste.

Source: www.technologyreview.com