After a closet cleanout, what options are there for recyling our old threads' Not many. Apart from bringing used clothes to a donation center, there is no process for recycling textiles like there is for bottles and cans. And, the average American throws out around 81 pounds of clothing each year. That amounts to more than 11 million tons of textiles that end up in the landfill or incinerator. The team has designed a yarn made from a form of plastic that is commonly used in milk bottles and grocery bags. The new yarn, which has a feel similar to traditional sewing thread, can be woven into stretchy, lightweight clothing. The researchers say that at the end of its use, a yarn-spun garment could be melted down and redrawn into new yarn, and then woven into new clothing or even cast into buttons, belt buckles, and other plastic accessories. To demonstrate the yarn's recyclability, the researchers spun a spool of yarn, melted the yarn down, and respun it into new yarn, multiple times....
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