EQS-News: Lenzing AG: A global first for circularity: Södra and Lenzing receive largest EU LIFE subsidy for recycling project

EQS-News: Lenzing AG / Key word(s): Sustainability/Alliance
Lenzing AG: A global first for circularity: Södra and Lenzing receive
largest EU LIFE subsidy for recycling project

19.06.2023 / 11:11 CET/CEST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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A global first for circularity: Södra and Lenzing receive largest EU LIFE
subsidy for recycling project

 

• EU funding for textile recycling project on an industrial scale
• Huge boost to circularity
• Lenzing and Södra – a long-standing partnership for systemic change

 

Lenzing/Växjö – The Lenzing Group, a world-leading provider of specialty
fibers for the textile and nonwoven industries, has taken another major
step towards achieving a circular future together with the Swedish pulp
producer Södra. The project will be supported by an EU subsidy of EUR 10
million as part of the LIFE 2022[1]^[1] program to develop the recycling
of textile waste on an industrial scale.

 

Under the banner of LIFE TREATS (Textile Recycling in Europe AT
Scale)[2]^[2], both companies are pooling their decades-long experience,
knowledge and technology to develop the unique OnceMore^® process in this
project, which is co-funded by the EU. Lenzing will play a particularly
crucial role in this process by deploying its expertise in recycling and
its innovative REFIBRA™ technology. This will enable a variety of complex,
colored textiles containing a mixture of cotton, polyester and other
components including elastane to be processed and recycled in future. This
next step, which is due to begin in the second quarter of 2023 and will
run for four and a half years, will involve the construction and
management of a facility for joint process development, as well as an
extension of the OnceMore^® process. This will allow 60,000 tonnes of pulp
– comprising 50% recycled material and 50% renewable pulp from sustainable
forestry – to be produced at Södra’s Swedish plant in Mörrum. Moreover,
the joint project will make a significant contribution to the EU’s action
plan for circularity, which is supported by the European Climate,
Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA).

 

 

“Today only one percent of the world’s textile waste is recycled, putting
an enormous burden on the environment. With the help of this significant
funding, Södra and Lenzing are ready to provide one of the main solutions
in terms of chemical recycling and become the enabler for the circular
textile economy,” says Åsa Degerman, Manager OnceMore® by Södra.

 

“Tackling the problem of textile waste requires a systematic approach, as
well as technological solutions on an industrial scale,” says Sonja Zak,
Head of Textile Sourcing & Cooperations at the Lenzing Group. “The LIFE
TREATS project therefore follows an integrated approach to achieve real
change and reduce the negative environmental and social impacts of the
textile industry in the EU and beyond,” she adds.

 

“As the first large-scale project of its kind, LIFE TREATS will have a
positive influence on the textile industry as a whole, create new circular
business opportunities and increase the share of recycled fibers in new
clothing,” comments Åsa Degerman, Manager of OnceMore® at Södra.

 

Forthcoming legislation such as the amendment to the EU’s Waste Framework
Directive, in addition to increased user responsibility, the decline in
export markets for used textiles and evidence of deteriorating quality in
collected textiles point to major changes ahead in the treatment of
textile waste. Lenzing and Södra acknowledge and are committed to
complying with the waste hierarchy. Their procurement will be limited to
the group of materials that cannot be reused in any other way. The project
partners’ aim is not to undermine the repurposing of used textiles, but to
prevent valuable fiber resources from being sent to landfill or
incinerated.
 

Partnership for systemic change

The transition to a truly circular economy requires collaboration between
several parties. Lenzing represents only one part of the textile and
nonwoven value chain and supports cooperation between partners across the
whole chain. Partnerships and projects such as these help Lenzing to
promote and accelerate systemic change.

 

Lenzing and Södra have been working together on textile recycling since
2021, making a crucial contribution to the promotion of circularity in the
fashion industry. In the course of their cooperation, the companies plan
to share their knowledge and jointly develop methods to facilitate the
broader use of cellulose-based used textiles on an industrial scale. The
OnceMore^® pulp developed by both companies will then be used for various
purposes, including as a raw material for the production of Lenzing’s
TENCEL™ branded specialty fibers using REFIBRA™ technology. The aim of
LIFE TREATS is to reach an annual processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes of
textile waste by 2027. According to Sonja Zak, Head of Textile Sourcing &
Cooperations at the Lenzing Group and Åsa Degerman, Manager of OnceMore^®
at Södra: “This project is a fantastic example of how we can join forces
to connect companies along the textile recycling value chain.”

 

In line with its circular economy vision, “We give waste a new life. Every
day”, Lenzing is driving the industry towards achieving a fully-fledged
circular economy by endeavoring to give waste a new life in all aspects of
its core business. Lenzing has been developing future-proof innovations in
recycling for years, including its REFIBRA™ and Eco Cycle technologies.
Beside the use of pure dissolving wood pulp, these technologies enable the
processing of a large proportion of recycling material that is derived
from cutting scraps in cotton production and used textiles.

 

 

Photo download:

[3] https://mediadb.lenzing.com/pinaccess/pinaccess.do?pinCode=iftlWoRDmmYd
PIN: iftlWoRDmmYd

 

 

Your contacts:  
   
Dominic Köfner Sonja Zak
Vice President Corporate Communications & Head of Textile Sourcing &
Public Affairs Cooperations
Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft Lenzing Aktiengesellschaft
Werkstraße 2, 4860 Lenzing, Austria Werkstraße 2, 4860 Lenzing,
  Austria
Phone   +43 7672 701 2743  
E-mail    [4]media@lenzing.com Phone   +43 7672 701 3465
Web       [5] www.lenzing.com E-mail     [8]s.zak@lenzing.com
  Web        [9] www.lenzing.com
   
Åsa Degerman
Manager of OnceMore^®
Södra
Skogsuddevägen 40, SE-352 51 Växjö, Sweden
 
Phone   +46 (0)703 87 03 42
E-mail      [6]asa.degerman@sodra.com
Web        [7] www.sodra.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

About the Lenzing Group
 
The Lenzing Group stands for ecologically responsible production of
specialty fibers made from the renewable raw material wood. As an
innovation leader, Lenzing is a partner of global textile and nonwoven
manufacturers and drives many new technological developments.
 
The Lenzing Group’s high-quality fibers form the basis for a variety of
textile applications ranging from elegant clothing to versatile denims and
high-performance sports clothing. Due to their consistent high quality,
their biodegradability and compostability Lenzing fibers are also highly
suitable for hygiene products and agricultural applications.
 
The business model of the Lenzing Group goes far beyond that of a
traditional fiber producer. Together with its customers and partners,
Lenzing develops innovative products along the value chain, creating added
value for consumers. The Lenzing Group strives for the efficient
utilization and processing of all raw materials and offers solutions to
help redirect the textile sector towards a closed-loop economy. In order
to reduce the speed of global warming and to accomplish the targets of the
Paris Climate Agreement and the “Green Deal” of the EU Commission, Lenzing
has a clear vision: namely to make a zero-carbon future come true.
 
Key Facts & Figures Lenzing Group 2022
Revenue: EUR 2.57 bn
Nominal capacity: 1,145,000 tonnes
Number of employees (headcount): 8,301
 
TENCEL™, VEOCEL™, LENZING™, REFIBRA™, ECOVERO™, LENZING MODAL™, LENZING
VISCOSE™, MICROMODAL™ and PROMODAL™ are trademarks of Lenzing AG.

About Södra

Södra was founded in 1938 on the idea that we are stronger together. We
are now the largest forest-owner association in Sweden, with 51,000 family
forest owners as members. Together, Södra’s members own a world-leading
industry that processes forest raw material into renewable products such
as pulp, timber, building systems, liquid bioproducts and energy. Rooted
in the forest, we grow the future.

Disclaimer

LIFE22-ENV-SE-TREATS – 101113614 is co-funded by the European Union. Views
and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not
necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the
European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for
them.  

[10]^[1] [11]https://cinea.ec.europa.eu/programmes/life_en

[12]^[2] Project 101113614 — LIFE22-ENV-SE-TREATS

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19.06.2023 CET/CEST This Corporate News was distributed by EQS Group AG.
www.eqs.com

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Language: English
Company: Lenzing AG
4860 Lenzing
Austria
Phone: +43 7672-701-0
Fax: +43 7672-96301
E-mail: office@lenzing.com
Internet: www.lenzing.com
ISIN: AT0000644505
Indices: ATX
Listed: Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Market)
EQS News ID: 1660065

 
End of News EQS News Service

1660065  19.06.2023 CET/CEST

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