Smart sorting system revolutionizes textile recycling in China

As China generates a staggering 26 million tons of used textiles each year with a recycling rate of merely 20%, a student team from Donghua University is offering a groundbreaking solution to an industry bottleneck. Their invention, a smart sorting system for waste textiles, achieves a 98% recognition accuracy and can process up to 3,600 items per hour - providing a significant boost to China's textile recycling efforts.

Developed over 26 months by undergraduate Yang Rui and his team at Donghua University's School of Mechanical Engineering, the system addresses one of the industry's most persistent challenges: the efficient identification of mixed textile materials. "Waste textiles are highly complex. Manual sorting is slow and error-prone, and existing automation struggles to identify blended fabrics," said Yang. "This is not just a domestic issue - even in countries with mature recycling infrastructures, sorting remains a major hurdle."

To overcome this, the team conducted fieldwork at more than 20 recycling centers and textile hubs across China, collecting and analyzing over 9,000 fabric samples. Through countless iterations and on-site testing, they integrated near-infrared spectroscopy with high-resolution visual detection, powered by an intelligent algorithm capable of identifying a fabric's composition in under one second with high precision.

The implications of this technological leap are substantial. Compared with conventional methods, the system increases sorting efficiency by five times while reducing costs by 40%. According to the team's estimates, every ton of textiles processed by the system could result in a reduction of 3.6 tons of carbon emissions.

Already recognized with one national invention patent and two software copyrights, the system's performance is reportedly superior to similar international solutions, indicating vast potential for scaled deployment.

"With its anticipated large-scale application, this system is set to unlock enormous commercial value and provide critical technical equipment for tackling the challenges of textile recycling," said project advisor Professor Xi Xinfu, associate professor at Donghua's School of Mechanical Engineering. "It will also accelerate the textile industry's shift toward a green, low-carbon, and circular economy."

As sustainability becomes a national priority, the Donghua team's innovation demonstrates how young minds and advanced technology can reshape an entire industry - giving every piece of discarded fabric a second life, and helping AI decode the complex 'black box' of blended textiles.