€100 million textile waste recycling center planned for Sillamäe

A textile recycling center is being planned for the eastern Estonian town of Sillamäe. When open, it will be the largest of its kind in the Baltics.
Eesti Keskkonnateenused and Greenful Group plan to build the textile waste sorting and shredding facility, as well as a related factory producing construction boards and panels from textile fibers, to be operational by the end of 2026.
The total investment comes to €100 million, €39 million of which is being provided by the state Enterprise and Innovation Foundation (EISA), from EU Just Transition Fund money.
Three companies are to collaborate in the textile waste processing, with the output from one factory serving as raw material for the next one in the chain.
Toomas Allikas (pictured) is a shareholder in all of these companies via Greenful Holding B.V.
Greenful Group OÜ has developed construction boards made from textile waste.
Tekstiili Taaskasutus OÜ, with participation from Greenful Sillamäe OÜ board member Markus Hääl and Eesti Keskkonnateenused, plans to establish the waste collection, sorting, and shredding center, which will be the largest in the Baltic and Nordic regions.
In the course of sorting, valuable materials will be directed for reuse, while lower-quality materials, which have a high synthetic fiber content, will be sent to Greenful Sillamäe OÜ for production.
Tekstiili Taaskasutus board member Kalle Grents said: "Approximately 20,000 tonnes of textile waste are generated annually in Estonia, all of which will be sorted by Tekstiili Taaskasutus OÜ. Additionally, textile waste will be imported from neighboring countries, with the center's maximum annual capacity reaching 70,000 tonnes."
"About half of the sorted textiles will be supplied shredded to Greenful Sillamäe OÜ, and the other half will be sold as textile fiber for reuse in Estonia and abroad," Grents went on.
Greenful Sillamäe then plans to manufacture construction boards from the lowest-quality textile sorting residues.
In addition to textile waste fibers, 3-5 millimeters in diameter, the company will also use polypropylene plastic waste granules as raw material for these boards.
The composition will consist of approximately half textile waste fibers, one-third waste plastic, plus 15 percent additives.
In turn, the granulated plastic waste needed for board production will be supplied by international companies such as Veolia Environment and LyondellBasell Industries.
According to Markus Hääl, the company will sell one-sixth of its production to Greenful SIP OÜ, which will use the boards to manufacture SIP panels.
"The remaining production will be sold to business clients in Estonia and on the international market," Hääl added.
Greenful SIP plans to produce the sandwich-type construction panels from the boards, with insulation foam in the middle and panels made of recycled textile and plastic on both sides.
Initially, PUR foam will be used, but a cellulose-based green foam is under development as a replacement.
The construction panels will be suitable for building modular homes and can be used as load-bearing walls, exterior facades, or interior panels.
Tõnu Puidak, board member of Greenful SIP OÜ, said the company "has signed preliminary agreements to retail its products both in Estonia and abroad."
"Companies which value sustainable construction are interested in purchasing SIP panels largely made from recycled materials," he added.
The EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) money, as distributed by EISA, provides €13 million per company in this set-up, totaling €39 million, with the total investment amounting to approximately €100 million as noted.
If all goes to plan, the factories will begin production at the end of 2026.
The three factories are expected to occupy approximately 1.5 hectares and will employ 150 people.
The JTF is a funding mechanism aimed at supporting the economy, people, and environment in regions facing significant socio-economic challenges related to achieving climate neutrality.
Estonia has directed the fund's resources to Ida-Viru County as one of the poorest of Estonia's counties.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Huko Aaspõllu