Can You Put Clothes In Recycle Bin?

You need to know if you’re still confused about what this means. All of your clothing can be recycled. So, no, you don’t always have to throw away your outgrown trousers, dresses, and other textiles from around the house.

Get them to the local recycling center instead. In case you’re curious about the process, it’s simple: they’re recycled and optimized for various uses. This process often involves spinning the textile or garment into a fiber. After that, it is used to make things like rubberized playground equipment, carpet padding, and automotive components. In fact, groups like Blue Jeans Go Green will sometimes use recycled denim as insulation in homes.

In this article, we will be discussing the importance of recycling clothes and how you can recycle them.

The Value of Reusing Old Clothes

Worldwide, just around 15% of textiles used in garments are recycled. All the rest will be dumped in landfills. There is a direct correlation between the materials used to make our clothing and the ensuing problems. The majority of manufactured clothing is currently constructed from questionable mixtures of natural yarns, man-made filaments, polymers, and metals. As if it weren’t bad enough that washing blended synthetic materials results in the creation of microplastics, recycling them is also a bit of a pain.

Sorting textiles by hand into distinct fibers and material kinds is labor-hard, time-consuming, and requires a professional team, as reported by BBC Future. However, European researchers have developed methods that employ hyperspectral cameras, which can see light beyond the limits of human eyesight, to better distinguish different fabric types, which overcomes one of the challenges presented by the increasing usage of new fabric blends in clothes. In order for yarns to be reused, they must first undergo a process to remove any remaining traces of color from previously dyed materials.

However, “material to material” recycling, in which old clothes are used to make new ones, is currently only used for a small fraction of the clothing sent for recycling. For instance, wool sweaters can be upcycled into carpets, and cashmere sweaters can be made into suits.

Methods For Reusing And Repurposing Clothing

1. Donate

Donating locally is a convenient option if you are still determining whether or not your clothing is still in good enough condition to sell. A potential one-stop shop for all your used clothing could be jeopardized if you don’t find out in advance whether the group accepts only lightly used items or products in any condition. When deciding where to send your clothing donations, you have two options:

Funds are gathered by non-profits to be donated to good causes. The proceeds from the sale of donated clothing are put into Goodwill’s job training programs for the elderly, military veterans, and persons with disabilities. Your contribution may be eligible for a tax deduction if you go this route. You can use Goodwill’s handy PDF guide to determine how much your donation is worth.

The Salvation Army, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Vietnam Veterans of America, and PlanetAid are just a few of the national organizations that gladly accept garment donations. Before giving money to a nonprofit, it’s a good idea to learn as much as possible about it.

Donations from for-profit businesses are voluntary. For every item of clothes you donate to ThredUp, the company will make a $5 contribution to the charity of your choice. Some stores, like H&M, Levi Strauss & Co., and The North Face, accept gently used clothing of any brand from consumers for refurbishment or recycling.

Organizations like USAgain use garment collection boxes as well. Some people are upset about these recycling businesses because they don’t think their donations are going to the poor. However, the apparel is typically sold abroad, and only a fraction of the proceeds, if any at all, go to charity. Savers, Community Recycling, and American Textile Recycling Service are just a few of the many for-profit organizations that collect used clothing.

2. Selling

You may make some extra cash and help the environment by selling your gently used clothes at local thrift shops or the top online marketplaces for secondhand goods.

Your favorite stores may also be willing to pay you to take your unwanted products off your hands. When you trade in your gently used Patagonia gear through their Worn Wear program, you’ll earn store credit, and when you trade in your old shoes through DSW’s Shoe Rewards program, you’ll earn points toward your next purchase. Through the Do Well recycling program at Madewell, you can get $20 off a new pair of “pre-loved” jeans; at H&M, you can get 15% off your next purchase by bringing in a bag of unwanted items.

Good-condition products are resold, and the rest are recycled into new materials, such as insulation for low-income communities’ homes. After cleaning out and organizing your coat closet, you may notice some valuable items that can be sold.

3. Recycling used textiles

Although clothes shouldn’t be tossed into recycling bins, they can be reused in other ways. Discarded clothing, such as damaged or torn garments, can be brought to a textile recycling center to be sorted. According to We, many of these contributions are sent outside to countries like Africa or Asia, where tiny businesses resale the clothing.

Earth911 and Recycle Now are two websites that allow you to enter your zip code and find a location near you that accepts clothing donations for recycling. Have no idea where to take your used clothing? There might be a collection box for the American Textile Recycling Service nearby. We advise that you inquire with your curbside recycler to see if they provide occasional clothing recycling services similar to Simple Recycling.

4. Composting

Clothes and other textiles are actually excellent composting materials. If you have any old or broken items made of pure wool, cotton, silk, or linen, consider cutting them up into little pieces to hasten the composting process.

All plastic buttons, metal zippers, and stains from non-compostable chemicals like motor oil and paint must be removed before the material is added to the compost pile. If you want to compost some clothes, you might also inquire with your local municipality about whether or not they take such items. Everything you need to know about making compost at home, in case your city doesn’t offer that service.

5. Repurposing

Even though the clothes you no longer need look worn, there is always a place in your home for them. Make a pet bed out of old blankets and flannel sheets, or recycle an old favorite shirt or sweater by using it as a pillowcase. We propose to reduce paper waste, people might use old t-shirts and towels that have been damaged as dusting or cleaning cloths and suggests using old clothes as the basis for a patchwork or a do-it-yourself face mask.

Use these linen closet organization and utility closet organization strategies now that your old towels and linens are no longer cluttering your closets.

6. Don’t Forget to Cut Back

Buying secondhand is another option to reduce clothing waste. Used clothing is often brand new and never worn. The less waste there is to recycle, the less effort we’ll have to put into reducing consumption in the first place.

Final Words

In this article, we have discussed what can bring clothes if they end up in the land field and how you can recycle your clothes. Recycling clothes can benefit you and nature in a great way. Humankind can be benefited from the step you take. So, it is better if you don’t throw your old clothes in the dustbin and recycle them.

Read More Garment and Fabric Care Articles:

How to Reuse Old Clothes

Can You Dry White Clothes With Dark Clothes?

Can You Use Borax On Colored Clothes?

How To Get PVC Glue Out Of Clothes

Can You Put Clothes In Recycle Bin?


Suggested Articles

Leave a Comment