The Role of Recycling in Reducing Microplastic Pollution in Textile Industry
A special issue of Microplastics (ISSN 2673-8929).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1855
Editors
Interests: microplastics; water pollutants; environmental protection; materials processing; materials characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: textiles; leather; footwear; ecology; nanomaterials; evaluation; surface finishing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Globally, 113 million tonnes of fibers were manufactured in 2000; forecasts suggested that this would increase to 149 million tonnes by 2030. Despite the introduction of numerous initiatives aimed at creating a more sustainable textile sector, less than 1% of discarded clothing is transformed into new raw materials, with around 25% either reused or recycled and nearly 75% of textile waste landfilled.
The textile and clothing industry contributes substantially to environmental degradation through greenhouse gas emissions (1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2015), soil contamination, and the release of microplastics and nanoplastics during the laundering, wearing, and disposal of fabrics in landfills. Because synthetic fibers are a primary source of microplastics released into aquatic systems, enhancing textile recycling is not only vital for reducing waste but also constitutes a crucial approach to mitigating microfiber pollution across the textile value chain. These contaminants reach wastewater treatment facilities, rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans, raising significant concerns for both environmental and human health.
In this context, potential research directions could include the following:
- Valorization of post-consumer textile materials within a circular economy framework;
- Characterization of wastewater generated during textile waste processing and its subsequent treatment;
- Assessment of the purity and quality of new synthetic fibers derived from post-consumer textiles;
- Investigation of microplastic and nanoplastic release from textile materials throughout their life cycle;
- Development of advanced technologies for removing pollutants from textile wastewater;
- Evaluation of the environmental and human health impacts of textile waste and associated wastewater.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Waste.
Dr. Maria Râpă
Dr. Carmen Gaidau
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microplastics is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- textile
- microplastics
- nanoplastics
- recycling
- impact
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