Trash Tutorial: Clothing, Even Shoes, Are Wanted by Recyclers

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Trash Tutorial: Clothing, even shoes, are wanted by recyclers

 HIDE CAPTION Old shoes that can't be reused can be repaired, repurposed or recycled if they are clean, dry and odorless. PHOTO COURTESY OF RIRRC

Friday By Krystal NoiseuxSpecial to the Journal Posted Oct 7, 2016 at 11:24 AM Updated Oct 7, 2016 at 5:33 PM Dear Krystal: In the past, this column has mentioned that clothing collection bins will take unusable clothing and sell it to recycling companies, but do they do this with all shoes? Share – D.M. in Warwick    A: Your question reminds me of a sentiment the past president of Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) shared about shoes at a textile conference I attended back in 2013. It was something along the lines of: “You may not believe it, but a single right shoe from one person can get matched up with a single left shoe from another person.”

Before attending that conference my perception was this: all garments placed into clothing bins go to other people to wear, as-is. I was presumably doing what most Rhode Islanders were doing when they cleaned out their closets: separating my clothing and shoes into those that I felt were fit for donation, and those that I felt were not. The former were dropped into a clothing collection bin, and the latter were tossed in the trash. I wouldn’t have dreamed of putting my torn up jeans, stained shirts, old sheets, or a single sneaker in with my gently used apparel. Why would I want to burden the collection organizations with materials they didn’t want?

Turns out that what I thought was a burden is actually a bonus.

At that eye-opening conference, put on by the Northeast Recycling Council, I learned that all clean (laundered, that is — stains are OK), dry, odorless textiles — be they apparel or non-apparel, gently used or heavily abused — were desired by textile collectors. By sorting and selling other textiles that can go on to be repaired, repurposed, or recycled, collectors can generate additional revenue while keeping 95 percent of dry, odorless textiles out of landfills. Considering that RIRRC’s 2015 Waste Characterization Study showed that 5.5 percent of mixed solid waste going into the Central Landfill is textiles, there was clearly potential to extend the life of the landfill by getting Rhode Islanders to maximize their use of clothing bins.

With that in mind, RIRRC launched a public education campaign to get out a new message in 2014: Please bag all clean, dry and odorless textiles together, and place them in any clothing bin across the state. This campaign included radio and web advertisements, social media, a special collection event at Warwick Mall with RI’s eight textile collectors, and labels that you should see affixed on most, if not all, collection bins in RI carrying this unified message.

So long as your shoes are clean, dry and odorless, J.M., (hint: run old sneakers through the wash first!) you can place them in a plastic bag and drop them in a clothing bin. Even if they are unusable to you, they could potentially be repaired, repurposed or recycled.

— Krystal Noiseux is the education and outreach manager at RIRRC. Send your question, including the city or town you’re writing from, to Trash Tutorial, Features Department, The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902. Or email [email protected], and put "Trash Tutorial" in the subject field.

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