Telangana Textile Clusters Could Benefit from National Textile Recycling Roadmap

New textile waste study highlights opportunities for recycling infrastructure, recycled fibres and circular textile systems

Telangana's textile clusters could see opportunities for increased investment in textile waste collection, sorting and recycling as India develops a more structured approach to textile waste management. The Ministry of Textiles' study, Mapping of Textile Waste Value Chain in India, estimates that India generates around 7,073 kilotonnes of textile waste annually, with 58% coming from post-consumer sources and 42% from pre-consumer waste.

Textile hubs in Warangal, Sircilla, Gundla Pochampally, Jadcherla and Mahabubnagar, along with export-oriented units around Hyderabad and Karimnagar, could potentially benefit from greater integration of recycling infrastructure with existing textile manufacturing capacity.

Post-Consumer Waste Remains a Challenge

The Ministry's study notes that around 97% of pre-consumer textile waste is already reused or downcycled, while post-consumer waste recovery remains more limited because of gaps in infrastructure and policy. The study identifies segregation, contamination and traceability as challenges in establishing more effective post-consumer textile waste recycling systems.

For Telangana, greater integration of waste collection and processing could support investments in sorting centres, baling facilities and mechanical recycling lines, with advanced recycling technologies potentially serving suitable waste streams.

“ The real opportunity for Telangana is to link our spinning and weaving capacity to a circular feedstock system,” said Dr Kavitha, a textile technologist and consultant based in Balanagar.

“If we set up regional pre-sorting and baling hubs for used garments, our mills can use more mechanically recycled cotton blends to make yarn for workwear, home textiles and technical fabrics,” she added.

Different Technologies for Different Waste Streams

The report highlights the need for different recycling approaches to address the varied composition of textile waste.

Mechanical recycling is an established approach but can reduce fibre quality during processing. It can therefore be used for applications such as mats, insulation and nonwovens, among other products.

Chemical recycling breaks fibres down into monomers or polymers that can subsequently be used to produce new materials. The approach can support textile-to-textile recycling and the production of fibres closer to virgin quality, although it requires significant capital and energy and remains at an earlier stage of deployment for many applications.

Thermo-chemical processes, including pyrolysis and gasification, can process mixed or contaminated waste into syngas and other feedstocks. According to the report, these technologies are not yet ready for closed-loop fibre production.

Hybrid Recycling Model

Dr Kavitha said a combination of technologies could be applicable to Telangana's textile ecosystem.

“The hybrid model makes sense for Telangana,” Dr Kavitha said. “Mechanical recycling can handle large volumes of cotton waste from garment units, while chemical recycling can tackle polyester-rich streams from sportswear and uniforms. This way, we maintain quality where needed and still achieve scale.”

Such an approach could connect textile waste generated by garment and manufacturing units with existing spinning, weaving and other processing capabilities.

Textile Recycling Market and Employment Potential

The Ministry of Textiles study identifies the potential for further development of India's textile recycling ecosystem. The report cited by Deccan Chronicle estimates that India's textile recycling market could reach ₹35,000 crore by 2030, with the potential to create around one lakh green jobs. It also calls for policy support to expand mechanical and advanced recycling and for greater formalisation of the informal sector associated with textile waste collection and processing.

The study notes that the informal textile waste sector currently supports approximately 4–4.5 million livelihoods, highlighting its role in the existing waste recovery chain.

For Telangana's textile clusters, the development of formal waste streams and recycling infrastructure could create opportunities to connect textile manufacturing with recycled feedstocks and circular production systems.