Estonia still figuring out EU's clothes recycling policy
Estonia is struggling to work out how to collect textile waste under an EU directive that comes into effect next year. From January 1, it must be separated from household waste but capacity is limited both here and in Europe.
Tallinn does not think it necessary to install waste containers next to every apartment block as the problem concerns recycling not collection. The capital already has four waste stations and twenty containers where old clothes and textiles can be deposited.
"As far as I know, the nearest place in the neighboring countries that has the capacity to process textile waste, to turn it into so-called fibers, is in Finland. However, their capacity is not very great and the question today is what to do with these fibers," Joosep Vimm, deputy mayor of Tallinn, told Sunday's "Aktuaalne kaamera".
The new obligation comes into effect from January 1, 2025 and has been known about for several years. The Ministry of Climate still does not know what plans will be implemented and said it is difficult to recycle the materials.
"Cutting is a craft, it's expensive, and it doesn't make sense to do it today, because there is no good market outlet for the commodity today," said Krista Kupits, circular economy advisor at the Ministry of Climate.
Harri Moora, senior expert at the Stockholm Environmental Institute's Green and Circular Economic Transformations Unit, said collecting clothes to resell is easy, but it is more difficult with waste.
"After all, the reuse organizations have to pay for the collected textile waste, i.e. treat it, and today there is essentially no other option, either landfill or incineration," Moora told AK.
Work is underway to assess the feasibility of Estonia building a textile processing factory or if sending the clothes elsewhere is more suitable. A study will be completed in August.
"The prospect of taking it somewhere else to be dealt with – there are very unlikely to be many opportunities. If they do, it will be at a very high price. The results of our survey show that it would be wise for us to take the first steps ourselves – separate collection, sorting, recycling etc.," Moora said.
The situation will become more serious in 2027, when burning unsold textiles will likely be banned.
It is estimated that 7.5 percent of waste taken to Estonia's Iru thermal power plant for incineration is textile waste.
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Editor: Marko Tooming, Helen Wright
