The Leaky Loop: Why Global Recycling Cannot Keep Pace with Production, and Why Landfiills Keep Filling

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@article{1724656,
      author = {Shambhavi Sharan, Sourabh Arjariya},
      title = {The Leaky Loop: Why Global Recycling Cannot Keep Pace with Production, and Why Landfiills Keep Filling},
      journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
      year = {2026},
      volume = {10},
      number = {5},
      pages = {1648-1655},
      issn = {2456-8880},
      url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1724656.pdf},
      abstract = {Global fibre production has reached record levels, rising from about 125 million tonnes in 2023 to 132 million tonnes in 2024 and an estimated 139 million tonnes in 2025 [3][7]. Over the same period, textile-to-textile recycling has remained below 1% of total fibre output [3][7]. This paper examines why. It argues that the textile system is a "leaky loop": material is recovered at some points but leaves the loop at nearly every stage through low collection, poor sorting, fibre blending, down-cycling and, above all, a persistent price disadvantage of recycled fibre over virgin fibre. We assemble the most recent published data at three scales (global, India and Bhopal) and introduce two simple ratios, the Recovery Ratio (RR) and the Loop-Closure Ratio (LCR), to separate material that is merely diverted from landfill from material that actually returns to textile production. Globally, roughly 87% of fibre input is landfilled or incinerated and under 1% returns to clothing [2]. India generates about 7.8 million tonnes of textile waste a year (about 8.5% of the global total), and reports a 59% reuse and recycling rate, but most of that is low-grade recovery rather than closed-loop recycling [8][9][15]. For Bhopal, no textile-specific waste audit has been published; we therefore present a transparent scenario model anchored to the city's documented 850 tonnes per day of municipal solid waste, all of which reaches the Adampur landfill [11]. We close with a four-lever strategy covering design, collection and sorting, price correction and policy that is aligned with India's Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026.},
      keywords = {Textile waste; circular economy; recycling gap; landfill; fast fashion; upcycling; extended producer responsibility; India; Bhopal},
      month = {November},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/ire1724656}
  }