What is Weaving Waste?
In the textile industry, weaving is one of the most essential processes where yarns are interlaced to form fabric. However, during this process, a significant amount of waste is generated in various forms. Weaving waste not only increases production costs but also affects the environment if not properly managed. Weaving waste refers to the unusable, excess, leftover or defective materials generated during the weaving process in textile manufacturing. It includes any yarn, thread, fabric pieces, or other materials that can no longer be used in the regular weaving process.
In any section of the weaving department, a certain amount of waste will be incurred during the processing of the material. This waste can be divided into two types, namely, process waste and incidental waste. The process waste is the unavoidable waste that has to be incurred to carry out the operations in any process and cannot be reduced below a certain minimum. All the remaining wastes, which are not associated with the carrying out of any operations, will be referred as incidental waste. These include the waste that results from package faults, from poor material handling, and inefficient work practices. Ideally, this waste can be completely avoidable. However, below a certain minimum level, the efforts to control this waste will become more expensive than the returns from the saving of waste and hence some amount of this waste has also to be tolerated.
Sources of hard waste during weaving are end break, bobbin change, bottoms, stripping, defective bobbin, creel change on warping, set change during sizing, lapper in sizing, and weft break on loom. The waste, which is generated at different processes, is segregated and is sold to proper brokers in the market at much below rate to have some realization of cost incurred in manufacturing. Hence, it is most important to be conscious of the waste amount generated in any department to ensure that the maximum amount of raw material gets converted to finished product rather than into waste. The different categories of weaving waste and their level are mentioned in Table below.
Table: Level of different categories of weaving waste and its end use
In this article I will explain various types of weaving waste, their sources, and actionable strategies to manage and mitigate their impact.
Warping
In warping, it is not possible to empty a cone/cheese completely and there is always some small amount of yarn left on the package. This residual yarn left on cone/cheese after warping will generate the hard waste during warping in the range of 0.5%–1.0%. The speed of warping is somewhat fixed in each machine. Toward the end of cone, the number of unwinding coils becomes high due to reduction in diameter of cone and can no longer support warping speed. This causes warp breaks, and it becomes difficult to stop repeating breakage. Because of these breakages, some cones that still contain yarn have to be thrown away. Also, the length of yarn on every cone is not fixed so all the cones on warping creel are not going to finish at same time which results in residual yarn on individual cones. Figure 1 shows pictures of these cones in the creel. The yarns left in the cones are transformed into large cones using a cone winding process. These cones are then used for producing low graded woven fabrics; apart from this, the yarn waste is also sold in local market at a very low price.
Sizing
Sizing waste is generated at two points of operation:
- At creel side, i.e., unsized waste.
- At headstock side, i.e., sized waste.
During sort change, yarn in rope form is dragged from the creel until and unless the sheet is in parallel form. Thus, it generates a huge amount of waste at each sort change. The total waste is generally 0.7% but it can vary depending upon the count processed and from sizer to sizer.
Usually, at the start of a new set, it is necessary to eliminate a portion of warp yarn to ensure that properly sized warp yarn is wound on the weaver’s beam. Apart from this, at the end of a sizing set, a relatively a large length of warp sheet is required to be left in the sizing machines as waste. These warp yarns are used to tie-in the warps of the next set of sizing. When the next set is started, the sized yarn of the previous set is pulled out and thrown away as waste. Figure 2 shows some pulled out sized yarn. Apart from this, a substantial amount of warp sheet is also wasted at the end of sizing as residual or left-over yarn on the warp beams situated in the creel section of the sizing machine.
Knotting
Knotting is the attachment of warp ends of an existing set of warps to the warps of a newly installed weavers beam. Knotting can only be carried out in cases when the number of total ends and construction of previous and new beams are exactly same. Knotting is done on a “one-to-one basis” by tying a knot between the warp ends that exists in a loom and warp ends of the new beam. Such knotting eliminates the extra time and effort of beam gaiting and drawing in. To perform knotting efficiently, small lengths of warp sheet from both the newly installed weaver’s beam and existing warp ends are eliminated which results in knotting waste (Figure 3). During this knotting operation, the hard waste in the range of 0.3%–0.5% is generated, which is considered as process waste. Now there is a minimal value of this waste, which should be tolerable but if it rises to a higher level, it creates a problem and affects the total waste percent of the weaving department to a great extent. Hence, control of this waste is necessary from the point of view of total waste percentage in a department. The knotting waste is fluctuating depending upon the workers practice and number of knotting.
Gaiting/tying-in wastage
While installing a new weaver’s beam, if the total number of ends and the fabric design of the new weaver’s beam are different from those of the existing weaver’s beam, knotting in will not work, and the new beam must be installed by gaiting or tying in. After the gaiting/tying process is complete, the next process is the drawing and denting process. Drawing and denting is a process that is carried out by threading the warp yarns through the required number of drop wire sets, heald wire sets, and finally through the reed. After completion, the whole arrangement, i.e., weaver’s beam, drop wire, heald wire set, and the reed, is shifted into the loom. After shifting is completed, the drop wire set, heald wire set, and the reed are secured in the loom frame. After that, the ends coming out from the reed are drawn forward and wound on to the cloth roller so that weaving can begin. Gaiting or tying in is also necessary in case of installation of a new loom, i.e., when beginning to weaving on a completely new loom. Figure 4 shows the gaiting or tying in and waste generated due to this operation. The level of waste is generally from 0.3%–0.5%.
Selvedge
Auxiliary selvedge is a dummy or false selvedge used to hold the weft yarn during the beat up period. The auxiliary selvedge is usually composed of 5–9 warp yarns kept at a certain distance from the last warp ends of the main fabric. The warp yarns are provided from individual packages from a particular creel arrangement mounted on the loom. The auxiliary selvedge is separated from the main fabric by the cutting action of a pair of scissors. The auxiliary selvedge is used in the left or finishing side of all shuttle-less looms. The purpose of auxiliary selvedge is to hold the weft yarn during beat up. After beat up, some fabric is woven, and the auxiliary selvedge, which includes both warp and weft fringe, is separated from the main fabric by being cut with a pair scissors and accumulated in the appropriate waste box (Figure 5). The amount of selvedge waste is generally in the range of 1.5%–2.0%. All this waste is considered as hard waste and sold into the market at a very low price. Though this waste can be reused after opening to fiber state, with the help of garneting machine or hard waste opener, in open-end yarn manufacturing or inferior quality yarns for rags, mats, etc.
Chindi
When starting to weave a new fabric on a loom, some warp and weft yarns are wasted due to trial and error practice before the loom is set to weave the intended fabric perfectly. This small portion of the fabric pieces are called chindi waste (Figure 5) in a weaving industry. Apart from this, a little portion of yarns is also wasted in forms of sample gray fabric to test or check and assure that the right quality is being woven on the loom.
Beam residual wastage
At the end or finishing of each weaver’s beam, a little portion of the warp sheet is wasted. In fact, it is not possible to weave the warp sheet completely. This proportion of warp sheet is considered beam residual wastage. The residual warp yarn remaining in the beam at the end of weaving is known as residual warp waste.
Recycling of Weaving Waste
The different methods available to recycle weaving wastes and convert them into apparels, technical textiles, composites and nonwoven products. This can be an eye opener to researchers and industrialists world-wide to indulge in more research activities and serve in reducing the landfill pollution. A vast number of products are made from reprocessed fiber because much of these fibers are respun into new yarns or manufactured into woven, knitted, nonwoven fabrications, upholstery material or composite biomaterial, etc.
The selvedge waste is unavoidable waste in every type of weaving machine. The catch selvedge yarn strip is sold at throwaway price. The fibers are separated by the garnetter who uses them for stuffing of pillows and quilts. Also, this waste can be used for making fancy composites for floor covering.
Conclusion
Weaving waste management is no longer optional—it’s a strategic imperative for the textile industry. It plays a vital role in the textile manufacturing industry. By identifying waste sources, implementing preventive measures, and adopting modern waste handling advanced technologies, mills can reduce waste generation, minimize costs, and contribute to environmental sustainability. Effective waste management and control strategies are essential to minimize this impact, promote sustainability, and support a circular economy in textiles.
References
[1] Nayak, R., & Patnaik, A. (2021). Waste management in the fashion and textile industries. Woodhead Publishing.
[2] Bhatia, S.C., 2017. Pollution Control in Textile Industry. CRC Press.
[3] Purushothama, B. (2016c). Handbook on Fabric Manufacturing: Grey Fabrics: Preparation, Weaving to Marketing. Woodhead Publishing India in T.
