In 2021 CTC started working with CRNI on their EPA funded Green Enterprise project investigating the development of a circular textiles system for Ireland.

The purpose of this project, are to address key national challenges including informing the design of separate collection schemes for positive impact and finding expanded or new local capacity for managing the textiles collected. The outcomes of the project will support a more circular textiles system in Ireland, inform policy makers, stimulate an operating environment for the prevention and reuse of textiles, support new business opportunities, and enhance the competitiveness, sustainable growth and resilience of the second-hand sector.

Having worked with CRNI on the Q2Reuse Research Project as well as the NATEX project, as well as our work on national waste characterisation surveys, CTC is delighted to bring its experience to the team involved in this work. The main body of work involves the design and piloting of three textile collection methods and assessing their effectiveness from the perspectives of:

• diverting textiles from the municipal waste streams
• improving the quality and quantity of textiles made available to local reuse practitioners, in particular the charity sector
• providing information to assist the development of the reuse sector and, specifically, the retention of textiles materials in Ireland
• providing quantifiable justification for policy makers and other institutional stakeholders on how to develop and improve reuse in local areas throughout Ireland

This project, which is due to run until the end of 2022, will involve a number of national stakeholders including local authorities, waste collectors, local development companies, the regional waste management offices, the Irish Charity Shops Association, among others.