“Testing the efficacy of end-of-use textile char as a soil amendment across Canadian Agricultural hotspots in a Controlled Setting”

This challenge extends beyond consumer apparel to the Industrial, Commercial, and Institutional (IC&I) sectors, where difficult-to-recycle polyester/cotton blends are widely used in hospital linens, hotel bedding, uniforms, and other high-volume applications.

This study investigates an end-of-life textile stream collected from London Hospital Linen Service in London, Ontario, consisting of hospital scrubs and bed sheeting with a combined fibre composition of 68% polyester and 32% cotton. Given the widespread use of polyester/cotton blends across apparel and IC&I applications, developing alternative end-of-life pathways has the potential for broad and scalable impact. Recent research has explored the thermochemical conversion of end-of-life textiles into char, a carbon-rich material with potential applications in soil enhancement, sustainable agriculture, greenhouse gas capture, waste management, and water treatment.