AI and near-infrared sorting for higher fibre purity and textile recycling at scale

AI and near-infrared sorting for higher fibre purity and textile recycling at scale

A textile sorting machine that combines artificial intelligence (AI) and near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy is central to scaling textile recycling. These systems help recycling facilities identify fibres, improve material purity and increase textile waste processing capacity, making high-quality recycling more efficient and economically viable.

What it is. A textile sorting machine is an automated processing system that combines optical sensors, NIR spectrometers, multispectral cameras and AI-powered algorithms to detect, identify and sort textile waste by composition, colour and other physical characteristics. Its primary function is to maximise fibre recovery and create homogeneous material streams suitable for mechanical or chemical recycling, while improving traceability and supporting compliance with recycling regulations.

Why sorting is critical. According to Textile Exchange, global fibre production reached 132 million tonnes in 2024, double the volume recorded in 2000, and is expected to rise to 169 million tonnes by 2030. Despite this growth, textile recycling remains limited: comparing global fibre production with the current economic value of the recycling sector suggests that less than 10 percent of textiles are recycled into new raw materials, a figure that excludes reuse or resale. Most textile waste is still sent to landfill or incineration, particularly in developing regions, which is why the sorting stage is critical to turning textile waste into valuable secondary raw materials.

How it works. Material feeding and preparation conditions the incoming waste for a continuous, stable flow: hoppers or conveyor belts receive the material, rollers or shredding equipment loosen compacted items, and the material is evenly distributed across the belt for accurate sensor readings. Fibre detection then uses near-infrared or mid-infrared spectroscopy to identify fibre types such as cotton, polyester, wool, viscose and blended materials, while RGB and multispectral cameras analyse colour and texture, and AI algorithms trained on large sample sets enable real-time classification of every item. Automated classification and separation then directs each item to the appropriate output stream using air jets, mechanical gates or robotic arms, removing contaminants such as zippers, buttons and rigid plastic elements.

What materials can be identified. Automated textile sorting identifies natural fibres including cotton, wool, linen, silk and viscose, and synthetic materials through their spectral signatures, including polyester (PET), polyamide (nylon), acrylic, elastane (spandex) and polypropylene. Combining NIR with artificial intelligence improves classification of blended fabrics such as cotton-polyester, polyester-elastane, cotton-acrylic and polyamide-elastane. The system also detects non-textile components to be removed before recycling, such as metal zippers, plastic buttons and labels, and identifies materials requiring dedicated recycling streams, such as PVC, polyurethane and rubber.

PICVISA's ECOSORT. PICVISA supports fibre-composition detection through its ECOSORT optical sorting systems and AI-powered robotic solutions. ECOSORT TEXTILE combines computer vision with hyperspectral imaging and, unlike systems that analyse only a single point of a garment, scans the entire surface, improving reliability when different parts of a garment are made from different fabrics. It recognises garment categories, colours, fabric construction and fibre composition, enabling reliable separation of cotton, polyester, viscose and blended textiles from complex waste streams. PICVISA has taken part in industrial deployments of automated waste sorting across Europe and the United States, with installations in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Türkiye, Slovakia and the United States.

Related PICVISA resources: automation of textile recycling (https://picvisa.com/waste/textile/), the ECOSORT optical sorting range (https://picvisa.com/optical-sorting/ecosort-textil/), glass sorting machine for automated cullet sorting (https://picvisa.com/glass-sorting-machine/) and glass recycling and optical sorting (https://picvisa.com/glass-recycling/)."