Regular shredding and secure disposal of fabric offcuts

The challenge

Bristol Weaving Mill’s Sustainability Policy perfectly summarises the company’s ethos. Designed with skill; woven with integrity.

Sustainability is a core focus for the Bristol Weaving Mill, and it shows in their operational processes. For instance, they trace the yarns they use back to their source. By using local suppliers with smaller herds, they are, in some cases, even able to trace fibres back to the very animals they come from. The dyes they use are natural and gentle on the skin, free from synthetic chemicals. They also repurpose leftover yarn after each job, turning excess into fine homeware products available for purchase.

However, the micro-mill produces a regular, small volume of textile off-cuts and woven cloth that isn’t suitable for reuse. The Bristol Weaving Mill wanted to ensure these materials would be afforded the same level of environmental consideration in their disposal as they are in their production. That’s where Shred Station stepped in.

Our approach

Shred Station is a lifetime CarbonNeutral® certified company. We take many measures across all areas of the business to enhance sustainability and reduce emissions, including operating with a strict Zero to Landfill policy.

Our textile shredding service ensures that the best possible recycling outcome is achieved for waste textiles, all with neutralised emissions. To achieve the best possible outcome, we follow the steps of the waste reduction hierarchy.

By applying the waste reduction hierarchy, we ensure as much waste textile as possible is reused, recycled, or, as a last resort, recovered. We never use landfill disposal for any of the items we shred, including textiles. With the Bristol Weaving Mill already reducing and reusing as much waste as possible at the source, this combination of waste reduction measures means fewer emissions at every step of the process.

Regular textile shredding services

To ensure a consistent and reliable service for the mill’s textile waste, we have installed a 240-litre textile waste bin at the Bristol headquarters for regular textile collections every four weeks. The company’s main textile waste is wool, which is highly recyclable. This means there is scope to find a reuse solution for the wool after shredding.

For occasions where there are also other low volumes of other natural fibres mixed in with the wool, there are two recycling options. One recycling option we recommend for shredded textiles is rag recycling, where the fibres can be recycled into new products like carpet underlay and dust cloths. Another option is, after the shredding process, to supply the shredded fibres to our social enterprise partner. Our primary social enterprise partner makes use of shredded fabric as stuffing. Both of these options are available to our textile recycling customers.

Where our customers prefer, for example, with items like police uniforms, we can also utilise Energy from Waste after shredding. This is where textiles are incinerated under strict controls to generate energy for the National Grid.

By reusing, recycling, and recovering waste textiles, we prevent any of our customers’ textile waste from entering landfill.

Juliet at The Bristol Weaving Mill explained that sustainable solutions for textile waste are vitally important.

The results

By shredding and recycling with Shred Station, the Bristol Weaving Mill has prevented its off-cut textiles from entering landfill. This choice allows the eco-friendly micro-mill to prolong the lifespan of natural materials, reduce waste, and minimise carbon emissions in its supply chain. This supports the business in its mission of becoming net-zero by 2030.

We reuse and recycle all possible materials for the Bristol Weaving Mill, meaning nothing goes to waste.