• This is the fourth of a five-part series on Kane County’s recently updated Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Plan, which includes 20 recommendations for Kane County’s future waste disposal. The articles are written by Kane County Recycling Coordinator Jennifer Jarland.

Here we are at the end of another wonderful summer! As we head into autumn and soon start packing up shorts, skirts and sandals and bringing out scarves, sleeves and sweaters, it is a great opportunity to sort out the garments and shoes that you haven’t worn this season. Pass them on for someone else to love; even those old favorites that you used to wear every week but haven’t worn at all this summer.

You may recall a similar message in a recycling tip that was published last spring, but I bring it up again because one of the goals in the 2015 Kane County Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Plan Update is to develop or encourage new programs to increase textile recycling.

Textiles is the catch-all word for clothes, linens, curtains, and blankets — basically anything made of cloth. The businesses that collect textiles generally collect clothes: shoes; accessories like purses, belts, hats, scarves; and linens, like bedding, blankets, towels, and curtains. There is a list of textile recyclers and more information on the Kane County Recycles Textiles page, and the section on textiles can be found on Page 33 of the Solid Waste Management Plan.

Despite the current collection efforts — primarily through charitable organizations, drop boxes and collection events — we are only succeeding in recycling about 15 percent of the available material. According to the U.S. EPA, a whopping 12.4 million tons of discarded textiles are sent to U.S. landfills every year. That is a terrible waste, because clothes, footwear, accessories and linens are highly reusable, and if not usable in their current form then the cloth is definitely recyclable!

That’s why it is a focus for the next five years of this plan period to not only increase opportunities for people to recycle this material in Kane County, but also to spread the word about the importance of reuse and recycling clothes and other textiles!

While many people want to donate clothes for a good cause, it is important to note that in all cases the clothes are sorted, valued, distributed and sold again to market. Charitable organizations such as Salvation Army and Good Will Industries also sort and sell the clothes for a profit, which they then use to fund their programs. That is certainly a good thing, but frequently they are overwhelmed with the volume of donations and actually pass many materials on to textile companies for processing and resale anyway. For answers to more questions related to this issue, see this great FAQs page on the SMART webpage.

In general, thrift stores will take only reusable or wearable textiles. It is important to know that drop boxes will take anything made of cloth, even if worn out or torn. According to the Council for Textile Recycling (CTR) and the Secondary Materials & Recycling Textiles Association (SMART), 45 percent of the collected textiles in the United States are sold and reused as secondhand apparel, 30 percent are used to manufacture wiping and polishing cloths, 20 percent are reprocessed into fiber, and 5 percent are unusable.

USAgain (pronounced “use-again”) and Credential Wholesalers, provide convenient parking lot drop-boxes near you. USAgain has a great location finder for drop-boxes throughout Kane County. Credential has drop-boxes in Montgomery, Sugar Grove, and Aurora. Please make sure that all textiles are clean and enclosed in a tied bag for drop-off at any location. Shoes should be in pairs, and can be in any condition.

Kane County will again be recycling clothes, footwear, accessories and linens at the Recycling Extravaganza on June 11, 2016, along with many other items! Kane County has consistently offered textile recycling at its annual recycling extravaganza beginning in 2012. Over a four-year period, from 2012-2015, this program has collected 9,976 pounds (5 tons) of textiles, clothes and shoes for reuse and recycling and has even made a small revenue on that material.

In order to fulfill the goals in the plan, Kane County seeks to expand opportunities for textile and shoe recycling program over the next five years. This may include locating drop-boxes in key locations, and reaching areas that do not currently have convenient access to such services. Additionally, I will continue education and outreach efforts. You can help by passing this article along to a friend via email, facebook or other means!

You can also invest in the reuse movement and join a growing number of earth-wise consumers, who like me, choose to shop for used clothes rather than new ones. Why? It saves precious human, plant, energy and water resources — oh, and it saves money too!

Please feel free to call Kane County Recycling Coordinator Jennifer Jarland at 630-208-3841 or recycle@countyofkane.org with any questions.

More information can be found at: www.countyofkane.org/recycling.

The plan can be viewed at: www.countyofkane.org/Recycling/Pages/solidWastePlan

Read More

• EPA Report on Textiles
• Online Press Kit From SMART Association

Solid Waste Plan Series

• Aug. 20: A Look at Kane County’s 2015 Solid Waste Management Plan
  
• Aug. 27: Minimizing Waste — Kane County’s Most Difficult Disposal Challenge
• Sept. 3: Next Big Thing Might Be Food Scrap Composting and Anaerobic Digestion
• Today: Part 4 “Clothes and Textile Recycling”
• Sept. 17: Part 5 “Electronics Recycling”