Recycling At Home - Textiles
Did you know that it takes ten times more energy to make a tonne of textiles than it does to make a tonne of glass? And that around 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away each year, most of which goes to landfill? Textiles describes items made from fabric such as sheets, curtains, clothing and shoes. These items can be made from different sorts of fibres, for example animal fibres - wool or silk; vegetable fibres - cotton or linen; or mineral - man-made or synthetic fibres such as lycra, nylon or polyester. As consumers we purchase 2.15 million tonnes of new clothing and shoes each year in the UK, and throw away the old to make room for all the new clothes. Shocking when you realise that generally our clothes when we've finished with them still have at least 70% of their useful life left.Reasons to recycle textiles -
Textiles present particular problems in landfill. Synthetic (man-made fibres) products do not decompose, but will remain buried intact for years. Woollen garments do decompose, but in doing so they produce methane, which contributes to global warming and climate change. The World Health Organisation estimates that 150,000 people die every year from climate change. Something else that we never think about is how the chemicals used to colour our clothes can contaminate the watershed.
Textiles present particular problems in landfill. Synthetic (man-made fibres) products do not decompose, but will remain buried intact for years. Woollen garments do decompose, but in doing so they produce methane, which contributes to global warming and climate change. The World Health Organisation estimates that 150,000 people die every year from climate change. Something else that we never think about is how the chemicals used to colour our clothes can contaminate the watershed.
Meanwhile, the fashion industry frantically and relentlessly produces new styles and trends for the high street. This has a negative effect on the environment as virgin resources are being used faster than they can be produced; toxic pesticides and other chemicals are being used to grow cotton, and energy is being used to transport products around the globe. Recycling cloth and textiles saves energy and reduces pollution that would result from transportation and particularly the dyeing and colour fixing processes applied to new, raw cloth. Recycling textiles makes a real difference by saving water, which is used in large quantity to wash and treat raw cloth.
What Textiles Can I Recycle?
The top 5% is classed "as new" and this goes to charity shops in the UK for resale;
45% is classed as "second hand" and usually goes to third world countries;
25% goes for fibre reclamation, which then is used to make new clothing and textiles;
15% is used for wiping cloths;
10% is classed as actual waste.
What Textiles Can I Recycle?
Sheets, blankets, towels, curtains, cushion covers and clothing / shoes can all be recycled. In the UK we sort approximately 250,000 tonnes of textile waste each year and it is sorted into 5 categories:-
The top 5% is classed "as new" and this goes to charity shops in the UK for resale;
45% is classed as "second hand" and usually goes to third world countries;
25% goes for fibre reclamation, which then is used to make new clothing and textiles;
15% is used for wiping cloths;
10% is classed as actual waste.
How Do I Recycle Textiles?
Take them to your local charity shop, pass them to a jumble sale organiser, hold a car boot sale yourself, or pass on any unwanted clothing to friends and family. The other alternative is to take them to a clothes bank - most local authorities have these facilities for collecting unwanted textiles; or you may well find that there is a local charity who collect door-to-door in your area on a regular basis. Be creative by altering and re-designing your clothes or you could even create new articles and accessories such as bags, scarves, throws and pillow cases. You can also use old textiles as cleaning cloths or rags, or use them in the garden.
