the paper examines the technique and the machinery currently employed for recovering the so-called hard textile wastes, which come from fabric cuttings in making-up or from used clothing and are composed of cotton or man-made fibres or both. the main object of the study concerns the measurements of the parameters that affect the final result, i.e., the regeneration of fibre and its behaviour in the subsequent spinning process. suggestions are made for the modification, according to the material concerned, of the traditional working cycle and the machinery settings in order to obtain better semi-processed fibres, a greater yield, and often a considerable saving in electric-energy consumption. (edited author abstract) 4 refs