The Bucharest Metropolitan Area Inter-Community Development Association (ADIZMB) launched a pilot program in 2025 dedicated to the separate collection of textile waste, by installing 12 specialized containers in five localities in Ilfov County: Berceni (2 units), Brănești (4 units), Pantelimon (2 units), Popești-Leordeni (2 units), and Vidra (2 units). The system is available free of charge to the public, with the collected materials being sent to recycling facilities, in line with the principles of the circular economy.
The initiative aimed to provide solutions to a pressing need in the Bucharest metropolitan area, where an integrated textile waste collection system has not yet been developed, given that, starting in 2025, Romania and the other European Union member states must collect these materials separately.
The installation of the 12 containers took place as part of the transnational project “Enhancing Danube Green Textile and Garment Production and Consumption” – Green-Tex, funded by the Danube Transnational Programme, a program aimed at cooperation in the Danube region, covering topics such as environmental protection, innovation, and competitiveness. The launch of the Green-Tex project in Romania marked the occasion for the conference “Sustainability in the Textile Industry,” held on March 4, 2025, in Bucharest. The event brought together representatives of local authorities, circular economy experts, and sustainability partners. Public awareness campaigns were also organized to highlight the importance of recycling textile waste.
Green-Tex: a European initiative for a sustainable textile industry
Bringing together 11 partner organizations from nine countries, Green-Tex aims to strengthen transnational collaboration and innovation in the sustainable textile and apparel sector across partner countries, making them more resilient and flexible in adapting to global trends. Green-Tex creates and tests new solutions for actors in the textile industry value chain (from fashion design, production, and use to textile waste collection) to become more resilient and competitive in adapting to global changes, transitioning from traditional practices to eco-friendly textile practices based on a more regenerative circular economy.
ADIZMB’s role in the project focuses on testing and validating effective models for textile waste collection through the implementation of a pilot program in the Bucharest metropolitan area. This component is being developed in parallel with similar initiatives in Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Trenčín (Slovakia), contributing to the exchange of best practices and the development of a model that can be replicated at the regional level.
Key Activities and Results 2025
January: participation of the ADIZMB delegation in the Green-Tex partners’ meeting in Zagreb for an exchange of best practices and a visit to the Textile Science Research Centre.
February–April: installation of the 12 containers in the localities of Berceni, Brănești, Pantelimon, Popești-Leordeni, and Vidra.
March: the conference “Textile Recycling and the Circular Economy,” organized by ADIZMB in Bucharest, sparked a dynamic exchange of ideas among authorities, experts, and the community.
April–May: interactive workshops in schools in the partner localities, focusing on environmental education and the impact of textile waste on the environment.
April–September: over 39 tons of textile waste collected by the installed containers.
September: participation in the Green Fashion Show, Postojna, Slovenia, where sustainable collections and alternatives to fast fashion were presented, creatively promoting reuse and the circular economy.
Green-Tex’s benefits for the sustainability of the textile sector in the Bucharest metropolitan area
Raising awareness and education: an active role in informing local communities by organizing workshops in the localities where textile containers are installed.
Promoting sustainable textile recycling: implementing effective strategies for the collection and recycling of textile waste.
Developing best practices and regional solutions: a model of best practices at the local level that can serve as an example for other regions, encouraging the widespread adoption of sustainable practices in the textile industry.
By the end of January 2026, over 50 tons of textile waste had been collected through the 12 containers placed at the initiative of the Bucharest Metropolitan Area Inter-Community Development Association in the towns of Berceni, Brănești, Pantelimon, Popești–Leordeni, and Vidra. A quantity that would otherwise have ended up in a landfill has, through this project, entered a sorting, reuse, and recycling cycle, directly contributing to reducing the environmental impact.
By choosing the textile waste collection solution, residents of the aforementioned localities have thus contributed to:
– a reduction of over 1,000 tons in carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the production of new clothing and footwear and from the decomposition of textile waste in landfills (equivalent to 10,514,641 km traveled by plane by one person),
– saving 98,363 m³ of arable land, freed up from the production of raw materials for new clothing and footwear,
– saving 108,193 m³ of water, otherwise needed for the production of raw materials for new clothing and footwear, for irrigating crops for raw materials, and for fiber manufacturing and dyeing processes (equivalent to 1,081,927 10-minute showers).
The categories of textiles most frequently collected via dedicated containers are:
- Clothing (including knitted or crocheted items) – 37%
- Pillows, bedding, table linens, toiletries, and kitchen linens – 28.5%
- Footwear with rubber or plastic/textile outsoles and uppers – 16.2%
- Interior curtains and blinds, drapes, and bedding – 9.1%
- Clothing made of natural leather/fur – 3%.
These results represent a significant step toward a circular economy in the Bucharest metropolitan area and demonstrate that well-managed infrastructure, coupled with civic engagement, can bring about real change.
Duration: 24 months (2024–2026);
Total project budget: 1,790,300.00 Euro
ADIZMB budget: 152,000 Euro;
Project code: DRP0200404;
Funding: Danube Transnational Programme;
Partners: Agency for the Development of the Sarajevo Economic Region (Bosnia and Herzegovina) – project leader, Municipality of Postojna (Slovenia), Nativa, Institute for Sustainable Growth (Slovenia), EKOCHARITY Slovakia civic association (Slovakia), Eurotex Ltd. (Bulgaria), Municipality of Majur (Croatia), University of Zagreb, Faculty of Textile Technology (Croatia), University of Donja Gorica (Montenegro), Zlatibor Regional Development Agency (Serbia), Bucharest Metropolitan Area Inter-Municipal Development Association (Romania), Hungarian Association for Responsible Innovation Active First (Hungary).
Associated partners: Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic, City of Trenčín (Slovakia), Ministry of Environment, Water, and Forests (Romania), Ministry of Municipal Services, Infrastructure, Spatial Planning, Construction, and Environmental Protection of the City of Sarajevo.