Analysis of textile waste streams for regional planning: the Lombardy region case study

Different researches proposed case studies about textile waste management, investigating different scenarios of separate collection, reuse and recycling rates or focusing on the composition of the textile waste. The quantification of textile waste streams through a material flow analysis can be the first step to assess the environmental impacts of textile waste management in a life cycle perspective. Previous studies are mainly focused only on one type of textile waste stream, usually the municipal textile waste separately collected. The goal of the present work is to give a picture of all the textile waste streams at a regional scale. To this purpose, Lombardy (Italy) was identified as case study. First, the methodology adopted for the data elaboration is explained. Then, different analyses are carried out to understand which are the main characteristics of the current textile waste management system in Lombardy in order to support future policies. In the end, future research pathways are suggested.