China Recycled Polyester Yarn

The past of China’s recycled polyester yarn industry

However, while China’s recycled polyester yarn industry is developing rapidly, there are also problems such as shortage of raw material resources, serious product homogeneity, overcapacity, backward production equipment, and insufficient R&D investment. Among them, the problem of overcapacity is particularly serious, which has led to the fact that the number of closed manufacturers is not comparable to the number of new ones, and the phenomenon of vicious competition in the industry is becoming more and more common. In order to ensure the healthy development of the recycled polyester industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the “Regulations for the Recycled Chemical Fiber (Polyester) Industry”, which has been officially implemented since July 1, 2015.

Raw material source of recycled polyester yarn

The raw materials for the production of recycled polyester yarns are mainly from waste polyester bottles, sheets, films and waste textiles. Among them, polyester bottles are actually our common mineral water, beverage bottles, etc.; waste textiles include a wide range, mainly polyester fast materials and waste silk produced in the production process of polyester. From the perspective of the industry as a whole, waste polyester bottles, flakes and films basically account for about 80% of the total raw materials of recycled polyester yarns. That is to say, the mineral water bottles that we inadvertently throw out every day are likely to undergo a series of processes such as recycling, crushing, cleaning, spinning, winding, clustering, drafting, etc., and then “transformed” and become textiles we use once again.

It is understood that a large number of waste textiles are left idle and wasted by Chinese consumers every year. However, as a raw material that can be used as recycled polyester yarn, it is almost blank in terms of recycling and processing.
In times of difficulty, old clothes can still be given away or donated to poor mountainous areas. Today, it costs tens or even hundreds of yuan for postage to send or express a package of old clothes to poor mountainous areas where they are needed. Therefore, many people feel that it is more practical to donate directly. Therefore, at present, consumers in cities, especially young and middle-aged consumers, often find it difficult to deal with waste clothes. Waste clothes are like chicken ribs to everyone, “tasteless to eat” and “a pity to discard”.
On the other hand, China has not yet issued a unified waste textile recycling standard, which makes it difficult to form a large-scale and industrialized waste textile recycling. At the same time, the technical level of the relevant recycled polyester yarn production enterprises is still at a low level, and the recycling rate of waste textiles is not high. As a result, China’s current main source of recycled polyester yarn raw materials must rely on recycled polyester bottles, sheets, films and other waste polyester items.

For a long time, the shortage of raw materials in China’s recycled polyester yarn industry has been serious. The reasons for this situation are more complicated, but they can be roughly summarized and summarized as the following main factors.

• First, in recent years, the recycling prices of waste PET bottles, flakes, films and other items have continued to decline, resulting in the lack of motivation for the middlemen (waste purchasers, waste recycling shops) who earn the difference. After interviewing street sanitation workers and hawkers who purchased waste items, we learned that a few years ago, a 500ml bottle of mineral water was purchased for 5 cents by a hawker, and a waste recycling store was purchased for 1 cent. In 2015, the price of used mineral water bottles plummeted, and it took four to sell for 1 cent. According to the sanitation workers who cleaned the streets, in the past, picking up mineral water and beverage bottles and selling them could earn an extra tens or hundreds of yuan per month. Now, because of the low price, they often take a “turn a blind eye” attitude towards the empty bottles discarded by people on the road. It is also because of the sharp drop in the sales price that the acquisition of waste hawkers is unprofitable, so some hawkers have eliminated the acquisition of waste polyester bottles, sheets, films and other items from their business scope. The shrinking of the sources of waste polyester bottles, flakes, films and other items is one of the important reasons for the shortage of raw materials in China’s recycled polyester yarn industry.
• Second, in recent years, the production capacity of China’s recycled polyester yarn industry has grown too fast, resulting in serious overcapacity, serious homogeneity in the industry, and intensified vicious competition among enterprises. At present, domestic recycled polyester factories have grown from more than 400 in 2010 to more than 600. It is estimated that by 2016, China’s recycled polyester production capacity will far exceed the level of 10 million tons per year. The continuous increase of recycled polyester chemical fiber manufacturers and the further increase in the demand for raw materials of recycled polyester yarn are also one of the reasons why the supply is in short supply.
• Third, the use of recycled polyester yarn raw materials has increased, and the use of it has become more extensive. With the development of science and technology, recycled polyester can be used in the production of foam materials, synthetic leather, coatings, paints, adhesives and even polyester bottles. From an objective point of view, the added value of the final products obtained by using recycled polyester as a raw material in the above-mentioned industries is much higher than that used for the production of recycled polyester yarns. Therefore, the diversion of recycled polyester yarn raw materials in other industries will further increase in the future. This is also one of the reasons for the shortage of raw materials for recycled polyester yarns.
• Fourth, the general public has misunderstandings about the recycling of recycled polyester yarn raw materials. Every once in a while, we always get some news about the smuggling of waste textiles along the coast from various media. Criminals use various means to smuggle waste textiles into China and then send these “foreign garbage” to some so-called “flowering factories” in coastal provinces, where they are processed into “black-hearted cotton” through machines. Reports like this are stirring everyone’s nerves all the time. The circulation of waste textiles in violation of laws and regulations has indeed had a great negative impact on everyone, resulting in the misunderstanding of the formal recycling of these items. Therefore, the recycled polyester yarn raw material manufacturers are faced with many difficulties in the recycling of waste textiles.

In fact, China is the largest producer and consumer of polyester fibers in the world, and the polyester industry has maintained a rapid development trend in recent years. However, the large-scale development and utilization of polyester resources and the rapid increase of industrial and domestic polyester waste have made the problems of resource shortage and environmental degradation increasingly serious. The development of recycled polyester yarn industry is of great significance to China’s consumption structure and environmental protection. For example, using 1 ton of discarded polyester bottles can theoretically produce 980 kilograms of recycled polyester yarn, which is equivalent to using 6 tons less oil, thus avoiding the waste of resources, and reducing the environmental impact on soil, air and water sources. Pollution.

The future development of China’s recycled polyester yarn

Therefore, vigorously develop things that are encouraged at the policy level of recycled polyester yarns. It is also a matter of great benefit to the vital interests of the broad masses of the people, such as energy saving, emission reduction, and environmental protection. At present, all parties in the recycled polyester yarn industry should increase the promotion of the product. It is the best strategy to further expand the market of recycled polyester yarn and its textiles to let consumers know the knowledge of recycled polyester yarn and its textiles from unfamiliar to familiar as soon as possible, and never dare to use it habitually.