Glass beads recovered from hi-vis workwear
Recovered retro-reflective beads could support circularity of safety garments destined for incineration.
Protective workwear manufacturer Alsico reports it can recover and reuse the beads, working alongside circular textiles company Stuff4Life and global textiles and industrial thread company Coats.
They aim to address the barrier of reflective strips that hinder recycling of hi-vis garments due to their tightly bonded composite construction.
According to Alsico, Stuff4Life’s patented polyester depolymerisation process, which was validated at Teesside University, UK, can separate and preserve the glass beads from hi-vis safety strips during processing.
Alsico says that up to 100% of the beads can be captured by filtration, while more than 75% of the total reflective strip material can be recovered by weight when the strips are manufactured on PET backing fabric.
Laboratory analysis finds that the recovered beads remain intact, spherical and optically effective, retaining up to 80% of their reflectivity compared with new material.
Testing conducted by Coats confirms that the recovered beads meet the criteria for reuse in new reflective tapes and materials.
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