Clothes Recycling – When our clothes are stuffed and no longer inspire joy, maybe it’s time to clean them out of your closet. For those that are no longer usable, recycling is an option. But where does recycled clothing go?
Donating your clothes is a great step to reduce your closet waste. The US Environmental Protection Agency estimates that Americans only recycle 15 percent of the textiles they use. This results in more than 13 million tonnes of textiles ending up in landfills, which is around 9% of total landfill waste.
Clothes Recycling
But when the clothes are stained, distorted and worn, no one wants to buy them. Fortunately, there are recycling programs to give new life to clothes that can’t be worn. Major retailers such as H&M have started recycling programs in efforts to neutralize the waste generated by fast fashion. Reputation recycles used clothing that cannot be resold.
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Along with the big retailers and organizations like Goodwill, many cities will have large dumpsters or pop-up collection sites where you can drop off your unwanted textiles and other clothing items like shoes.
“For every bag you collect, 50 percent will be wearable and 50 percent will be used for other purposes,” said Adam Brochovich, founder of Wearable Collections, a nonprofit based in Brooklyn, New York, that manages clothing. Collection centers throughout the city.
Once collected, these bags of clothing are sorted into wearable and non-wearable items, either by a sorting facility or by the organization itself. High-quality wearables will be resold, sometimes to second-hand clothing markets overseas. However, the goods that can no longer be worn are collected at processing facilities for a small fee.
Although there is an abundance of textiles, there is not much money to be made from sorting the materials. “It’s still considered waste by the used clothing collection industry,” says Brochovitz. “[Processing facilities] don’t actually pay for these things, but they might pay for the shipment to get it off your hands.”
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In the processing facilities, the recycled clothing is shredded, treated and replanted into sound dampening materials, carpet padding and insulation. Sometimes old textiles can be cut up and turned into rags for the automotive industry. Because the recycling process stretches and weakens the fibers, only a small percentage of recycled clothing is used to create new textiles. H&M’s 2016 sustainability report revealed that only 0.7 percent of their fabrics were made from recycled materials.
“It goes through a milling process and then a treatment product depending on what it will be used for,” says Serge Lazarev, founder of Green Tree Textile Recycling in New York. “If you pull up the carpet in the truck of your car, you’ll see this insulation there. It looks like blue hairs.”
Even if the fabrics are not made into new clothes, recycling clothes can keep them out of the landfill.
“It takes a long time for [clothes] to break down if they can break down at all,” says Lazarev. “When you can pick it up and recycle it, it gets a second life as an additional material, and recycling creates jobs.”
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There are certain restrictions on the materials that can be recycled. Both Brochovitz and Zerev say spandex, lycra and other materials are difficult to process. “When elastic and rubber are mixed with the textile material, we have no way to separate it,” says Lazarev.
That’s a concern, especially since elastic clothing is becoming more popular, but Brochovich says new technologies are working to improve the sorting and recycling process. “We are waiting for technological breakthroughs,” he says.
When it comes to finding a place to recycle your old clothes, you can take your textiles to Goodwill, or you can drop them off at one of the retailers with recycling programs, including H&M, Levi’s and The North Face. Check online for any in-store specifications; Madewell, for example, recycles denim specifically for use as insulation in homes built with Habitat for Humanity.
You can also look for an organization such as Greenwood Textile Recycling or Wearable Collections in your area. If you’re looking for a little more guidance, check with your local government. “Municipalities will often have a list of companies in the area,” says Lazarev.
How You Can Recycle Clothes
Recycling your clothes reduces some of the waste that accumulates in landfills around the world, but it’s hardly a panacea for global textile waste. The best solution is to take care of your clothes so that they don’t end up in landfill in the first place, and that they eat – and consume less.
Sam Skipney loves pollinators, fresh herbs, and learning how to live more sustainably in small spaces. She previously wrote for Sierra, Smithsonian, Earth Island Journal, and American Farm Publications. Like many people, you probably have that pile of clothes sitting in your closet or in the back of your car, waiting to go to the donation center or in the trash. People cycle through clothes all the time, whether it’s because they no longer fit or have holes or stains. Unfortunately, fast fashion doesn’t cut the pile of clothes, but that’s a conversation for another time.
Every year, just over 11 million tonnes of textiles end up in landfill. Used clothing constitutes the majority of textile waste. Harm landfills in the United States and elsewhere in the world b. It can take years for textiles to break down.
Fortunately, there are ways you can dispose of your clothes in more sustainable ways. The vast majority of clothes are only worn a few times. Think smarter and more sustainably when getting rid of that pile of clothes.
Clothing And Textile Recycling Bin Pic
This way you can recycle clothes, or at least use them instead of throwing them in the trash.
Whether you are outgrowing your clothes or perhaps updating your style, you can donate your unwanted clothes. It might seem easier to throw that bag of clothes in the trash, but one could get a lot of use out of them. If you can’t afford to resell your clothes, you can look into donating them. They should still be in good condition, with no holes or large stains. Give them to Goodwill, the Salvation Army or a shelter.
You can’t put clothes in your regular bin with aluminum cans and paper. However, you can find a textile recycling center near you. Textile recycling centers take clothes that have no longer had a wearable life but are still structurally sound. Often, recycled clothing is reduced to things like rags, insulation and toppers. The fibers break down and become shorter, so the centers cannot recycle them into new garments.
Another way to keep your clothes out of landfill is to sell them. It happens all the time – you buy an item of clothing for just one occasion, you buy clothes online that don’t fit or you buy a shirt that you thought you would wear, but it’s still sitting in your pulse with the tags on it. You can get some of that money back by selling your clothes in thrift stores or online. These items should be in good condition with no stains or tears.
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The clothes you no longer need can serve a new purpose in your home. For example, maybe an old shirt or love could be a pillow cover. Maybe you can turn old sheets and flannels into a bed for your furry friend. In addition, you can use old and damaged t-shirts as reusable towels and dusters. The possibilities are endless with fabric material. In these times of COVID-19, you can upcycle your old clothes into face masks for your family.
Did you know you might be able to wear that pair of socks with your compost? Although not all fabrics are compostable, some are, meaning nutrients are added to your organic matter. In your clothes you want to get rid of, look for natural fiber items made of pure silk, cotton, linen or wool. Cut them into small pieces and throw them straight into your bin or compost heap. Be sure to remove buttons, zippers, and any other non-compressible material first.
Depending on the clothing brand, the brand may take back your unwanted clothing items. Basically, once you have finished the product, the brand is willing to take those clothes back to close the loop on production and extend the life of the raw materials. Some stores will offer an incentive, such as a coupon, cash or clothing swap. Some of these brands are Madewell, Levi’s, Reformation and Patagonia.
When a garment is too far gone to be recycled, donated, sold, composted or reused, it can probably go to landfill. The ultimate goal is not to put any material in landfills, but sometimes, it is unavoidable. If the clothing is wet, moldy, or torn to shreds and contains a hazardous substance, put it in the trash.
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When choosing clothes, try to make sure that it
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