The ECOFAP research project will help solve the problem of recycling leather scraps from footwear manufacturing, which are usually sent to landfill. AIMPLAS collaborates with Pikolinos, Evatalking and the Footwear Technology Centre of La Rioja (CTCR) in this project funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and the EU Next Generation funds.
AIMPLAS
The Valencian Community produces 65% of the shoes in Spain - about 70 million pairs per year. It is estimated that the waste generated by footwear factories in leather scraps alone amounts to 3,500 tonnes per year. Although there are different recycling techniques, their application for complex waste (footwear) is not easy. This is because of adhesives and inks.
AIMPLAS, the Plastics Technology Centre, Pikolinos, Evatalking and the Footwear Technology Centre of La Rioja (CTCR) are working on the ECOFAP Project to develop a new 3D printing material based on recycled natural leather. This is so that it can be used in different components for fashion, textiles and footwear. The project aims to recover tanned leather waste from the footwear industry to create new materials for soles and heels using FDM 3D printing. It reduces waste, as well as the environmental impact and carbon footprint.
3D printing applied to shoe manufacturing represents the greatest growth potential within the footwear industry, a market characterised by customisation.
New technology to obtain micronised leather
The challenge faced by the ECOFAP consortium is to reduce the particle size of the leather scraps to 10 microns to allow for post-processing as a secondary raw material.
The goal is to combine different percentages of micronised leather with various polymers whose mechanical properties make them suitable for working with leather so they can be used as a filament for 3D printing. The reduction of particle size to less than 10 microns is a demanding task due to the difficulty of crushing a material made up of elastic fibres (collagen).
This project is funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and Next Generation funds of the European Union.