MIT unveils recyclable elastic yarn respun 10 times

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MIT engineers have created a new elastic yarn from polyethylene that can be recycled at least 10 times without losing strength or flexibility. The yarn uses two polyethylene-based materials, a soft elastic core and a stiffer outer sheath, which belong to the same plastic family, allowing them to be melted together. In lab tests, the team melted and respun the fibre a decade of times, retaining its properties. The material can be knitted and woven into textiles. The Times of India reports that spandex, widely used in stretchy garments, creates recycling problems because it is blended with polyester or nylon, requiring complex separation. The new yarn avoids this issue, but remains at the research stage and is not yet a commercial spandex replacement.

MIT researcher Svetlana Boriskina said about 80% of textiles on the US market contain some spandex. The research was supported by the US Army Research Office, Office of Naval Research Global and the MIT Portugal Programme. The team hopes the yarn can eventually reduce textile waste by enabling a circular economy where old garments are melted into fresh fibre.