At the start of 2025, Sweden took a step towards a more circular economy. For the first time, Swedes were no longer allowed to toss old clothes, curtains, or other textiles into the regular rubbish bin. Instead, these items had to be taken to special collection points, a move designed to reduce waste, promote reuse, and turn textiles into new raw materials (and for the first time have some proper data on textile waste).

The ambition was clear and obious: to stop treating clothes as disposable and start treating it as a circular material. But within months, the new law began to show its flaws. Charities were overwhelmed, recycling stations were piling up with unmanageable waste, and municipalities struggled to cope. By October, Sweden was forced to rethink its approach.

How the law started

The regulation, which came into effect on 1 January 2025, was Sweden’s response to an EU directive requiring all Member States to ensure separate textile collection by that date. The idea was simple: textiles should be reused, repaired, or recycled not incinerated for energy (which is a common waste-practice in Sweden).

Each municipality was tasked with setting up its own collection system. In most cases, this meant adding new textile containers to recycling stations and collaborating with established charities already collecting clothes for reuse.

But the real challenge turned out to be what ended up in those containers.

When good intentions meet reality

Very soon after the rollout, problems emerged. Many people placed dirty, mouldy, or heavily damaged items, the kind of textiles impossible to reuse or recycle, in the same bins as perfectly wearable clothes.

Charities like Myrorna and Humana sounded the alarm. They were receiving truckloads of unsellable textiles, forcing them to spend more time and money on sorting and disposal (a work many times done by volunteers). Municipal sorting centres also struggled, with large volumes of mixed materials that couldn’t be processed by existing recycling systems.

The fundamental issue was one of capacity and clarity. Sweden doesn’t yet have nation-wide large-scale facilities for textile recycling, and the law had arrived before the infrastructure was ready. Add to that a lack of clear communication about what counts as reusable or recyclable, and confusion was inevitable.

Even Climate and Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari admitted that many municipalities were overwhelmed: “Dirty and torn clothes easily end up in the same containers. Several municipalities have now asked residents to throw broken and stained clothes directly in the bin,” she told SVT Nyheter (public news channel).

A quick U-turn: the October reform

By summer 2025, the government acted. A new rule, taking effect 1 October 2025, allows small amounts of ruined textiles, like socks, underwear, and very dirty or mouldy garments, to be thrown in the regular household waste again.

The proposal and goal has been debated some sa it was no backtrack on circularity, but to make the system work better. Others meant that muncipalities and charity shops was enver given the right conditions from the first place. The adjustment acknowledges that not everything can or should be recycled, at least not yet. Burnt for energy recovery, these items will at least contribute to heating and electricity, rather than clogging up recycling centres. But even more importantly, that households sorting is not enough, there needs to be a proper waste system, funded and supported propely by the government.

For now, municipalities will continue to collect clean, dry textiles separately, and residents are still urged to prioritise reuse first, by donating or selling clothes that are still in good condition.

Why this still matters

Despite the setback, Sweden’s textile waste reform remains a key part of Europe’s larger transition toward circular fashion. The EU’s upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework, expected in the next few years, will make producers responsible for the collection and recycling of textiles, not municipalities. That shift should bring in both funding and structure to build proper recycling capacity.

In the meantime, the message to consumers remains the same:

Buy less and use longer. Doubling the lifespan of a garment nearly halves its climate impact.
Reuse before recycling. Clean, whole textiles should go to second-hand or donation points first.
Keep it clean. Only dry, uncontaminated textiles can actually be recycled.
Repair and care. Find a local tailor, cobbler, or textile repair service — the best recycling is the one you don’t need.

From confusion to clarity

Sweden’s brief stumble shows just how complex textile recycling really is. Laws alone can’t close the loop, it takes infrastructure, communication, and cooperation between citizens, municipalities, and producers.

What began as a circular dream may have required a reality check, but it’s also a sign of progress: a system learning from its early mistakes, adapting, and refining itself toward something more effective.

The textile bin isn’t the final solution, but it’s a necessary start.

Sources:

Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket)
Stockholm Vatten och Avfall; SVT Nyheter (17 July & 30 September 2025)
European Environment Agency; EU Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC, Article 11)

Sweden’s Textile Recycling Law Changes