Why recycle textiles?
Textiles currently make up about 3% of the average household bin. Total textile waste per year is about 550,000 to 900,000 tonnes for the UK. Between 400,000 and 700,000 textile items are landfilled every year. These are worth an estimated £400 million in value with more costs on top of this value because of the cost of disposing of them in landfill. By reducing the number of textiles sent to landfill there would be an increase in available landfill space. Methane production would also be reduced as a result of woollen garments not being buried in the ground. If everyone in the UK bought one reclaimed woollen garment per year 371 million gallons of water would be saved. Suffolk collects around 702 tonnes of textiles for recycling every year. It’s easy to do your bit! There are dozens of textile recycling banks in Suffolk and all 18 Household Waste sites have textile recycling facilities. To find your nearest textile bank enter your postcode into the bank locator at www.recycle-more.co.
