05 Feb 2025
Environmental practices in the textile industry applicable to Stara Zagora were studied during a two-day visit to the Italian city of Prato by experts from the Department of Investments, Energy Efficiency and Green Transition in the Municipality of Stara Zagora. Their visit at the end of January was joint with representatives of the Regional Inspectorate for Environment and Water and Stara Zagora businesses.
This is the second visit under the project "TEXAD - Improving circular solutions for textile waste for European municipalities", funded under the Interreg Europe program.
The first took place in early September 2024 in the Swedish city of Borås, when innovative approaches in waste collection, recycling and circular economy models were studied.
The visit to the city of Prato aimed to exchange good practices for the management and recycling of textile waste, informed today Rositsa Raykova, Head of the Investment, Energy Efficiency and Green Transition Department in the Municipality of Stara Zagora. She pointed out key moments of the visit, including the visit of Marini Industrie - the experts were introduced to the methods for eliminating harmful chemicals from the production process. "Their work on the DETOX initiative is an excellent example of environmental practices in the textile industry. At Tesma Cashmere we learned more about the mechanical recycling of textile fibers - technologies that can also be applied in our local industry," Ms. Raykova also noted. At Trafi Creatività Tessile, the innovative technique "Astro Dyeing" was demonstrated - a multi-color dyeing method that significantly reduces the use of chemicals.
"At GIDA, we examined a successful model for water resources management through public-private partnerships - an approach that can also be adapted in Stara Zagora," assured the Head of Invest Stara Zagora.
On January 29, a meeting of the TEXAD project steering committee was held, at which key topics for sustainable textile waste management were discussed:
• Financing the circular economy
• Monitoring legislation and its implementation
• Raising awareness among consumers and businesses
• Developing industrial and municipal skills
• Building infrastructure and recycling facilities
“The visit to Prato was extremely useful. We saw good practices that can also be implemented in Stara Zagora. We will continue to work for sustainable innovations in the textile sector and effective resource management,” Ms. Raykova finally summarized.
Already in mid-July 2024 It became known that the Municipality of Stara Zagora is the only one in Bulgaria that has joined the Interreg Europe program "TEXAD - Improving circular solutions for textile waste for European municipalities", the news was announced at the time by the Deputy Mayor for "Transport, Ecology, Investments and Green Transition" Radostin Tanev. "We are partners in the implementation of the project together with 7 more municipalities from 6 geographical areas of the European Union. The idea is to exchange and share our experience in the realization of textile waste, which will help to change the legislation of the European Union regarding the processing and utilization of this waste", summarized Mr. Tanev at the time.
From 4 to 6% of the total ecological footprint of the EU can be attributed to textiles. It is estimated that 3.3 to 3.7 million tons are disposed of annually in mixed household waste. The reality may be worse, as there is currently no EU-wide obligation to report the amount of textiles collected by consumers or companies, meaning that additional tonnes of textile waste could end up in regular bins.
