The Round Table - “Textiles in the Azores and Circularity: Past, Present and Future” was held under the EU program INTERREG MAC 2021-2027 and the project “TEXTILE - Developing a Sustainable Future: Promoting the Circular Economy of the Textile Sector”, and was promoted by AJITER - Youth Association of Terceira Island.

The topics covered included a characterization of the reality of textile waste in the Azores, as well as the legal provisions governing its management and, likewise, a look at the management done by our ancestors in order to understand what message we can take from it for the future, a future that we want to envision with ideas and good practices of sustainability and circularity, combining creativity, art, better habits and scientific knowledge.

Cátia Sousa, Manager of the Textile Collection at the Angra do Heroísmo Museum; Bela Dutra, Senior Technician at the Waste Management Division of the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Action; Telmo Eleutério, Researcher at the FCT - Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of the Azores and Quélia Fontes, Entrepreneur responsible for the “Desapego” project were in charge of the main speeches at this Round Table which was moderated by Sónia Reis, Environmental Engineer and head of AJITER.

 

This event was aimed at future multipliers, youth workers, mayors, leaders of institutions and young people and included the participation of the Azorean partners in this project, namely the Regional Directorate for the Environment and Climate Action, the University of the Azores, the Gaspar Frutuoso Foundation, as well as AJITER.

 

The problem of textile waste is a growing environmental challenge, especially due to the large volume of discarded clothing and the pollution associated with its production and disposal. In Portugal, around 200,000 tons of textile waste are thrown away every year, representing 4% of urban waste. This problem has significant implications, from taking up space in landfills to soil and water pollution.