Volunteers carry textiles for recycling
NEW PALTZ – As part of Earth Week, state Environmental Conservation Department Regional Director Martin Brand hosted a “ReClothe NY” textile recycling drive in New Paltz where volunteers collected unwanted clothing and drapes.
Held in partnership with Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency and New Paltz’s Zero Waste initiative, the goal of the event was to promote awareness of recycling opportunities and higher rates of recycling and diversion of textiles from landfills. Besides clothing, a popular drop-off item was stuffed animals, as the local Salvation Army does not accept these unless they are brand new.
The 2010 State Solid Waste Management Plan identifies textiles in waste streams as used clothing, carpets, towels, sheets and draperies. Recycling industry publications, citing EPA figures, say textiles make-up an estimated five percent of all solid waste. This equates to 82 pounds of textiles generated per person per year in the US, but only 15 percent, or seven pounds of this is recycled or diverted for reuse, while the vast majority is permanently discarded in landfills, even though reuse is highly feasible.
“In terms of job creation, there are estimates out there that several thousand jobs could be created if this waste stream were fully recycled,” said Brand. “This would generate small business and other opportunities that could take advantage of this material and make it into usable products.”
New Paltz Recycling Coordinator Laura Petit discussed the local partnership with US EPA in a municipal zero waste initiative. The town in 2013 created a zero waste action plan, adopted by each community, which contains a Sustainable Materials Management program.
Textiles are readily reusable through contributions at thrift stores and by drop boxes which are often part of the charitable contributions network. EPA estimates nearly half of discarded textiles are donated to charities. Petit said people “get” recycling textiles, as they assign value to things like clothes, knowing how much they cost when they were initially purchased. This compares with, for example food waste, which people may not equate with value unless they are gardeners.
Petit said New Paltz will set textile collection benchmarks and discussed a history of innovative activities, like the Great Community Giveaway held each spring as SUNY New Paltz students depart from temporary residences. Neither Michelle Bergkamp, the Ulster County Community Action recycling coordinator, nor Petit were aware of regional or local measurements that characterize or define amounts of textiles in area solid waste disposal streams now. Petit indicated there may be a recommendation to set locally ambitious goals for textiles diversion in terms of the amount of materials they collect.
