WHITECYCLE bridging medieval wisdom and modern tech: what 13th-century ragpickers can teach us about recycling PET

In a fascinating article, Prof. Dr. Valeria Jana Schwanitz (Western Norway University of Applied Sciences) takes us on a journey through time to show how historical circular economies can inspire modern recycling systems.

This piece connects the dots between medieval textile networks and cutting-edge plastic recycling, and describes how the WHITECYCLE project is using enzymes and APIs to rebuild the kind of circular economy that medieval regions across Europe once ran on touch and trust.

This article is based on a presentation delivered at the ARTEMIS Conference in Perugia, Italy (29-30 June 2026), titled "Recycling Complex Garments in WHITECYCLE.