The Czech Environment Ministry recently announced plans to enforce compulsory textile waste collection from 2025.

The initiative, announced at a press conference by environment minister Petr Hladik, aims to align with the European directive on waste management.

Producers will assist municipalities in bearing the collection costs.

The priority is to foster textile reuse and efficient recycling practices, the minister said. Textiles often get discarded now into mixed waste bins, significantly affecting recycling efforts.

The proposed strategy targets enhancing citizens’ engagement by setting up collection points across municipalities.

Nearly 10,000 textile containers dot the Czech Republic, but the existing Waste Act merely mandates collection points, not recycling.

Hladik underscored the lack of financial compensation to municipalities for establishing these collection points under the previous government, according to a Czech media outlet.

The aim is to expand beyond containers, integrating collection points in varied locations like town halls and retail outlets.

Recycling fees could potentially be shared between sellers and manufacturers, with eventual implications for consumer pricing.

There has been a yearly rise in textile waste production in the country. Around 180,000 tonnes of textiles are discarded annually, with a mere 3-4 per cent entering mixed waste bins and 39,000 tonnes being sorted for recycling.