Don’t throw those worn-out clothes in the garbage

[MeMew]

http://www.yourhome.ca/homes/green/a...in-the-garbage

October 09, 2012
Ellen Moorhouse
Special to the Star

My rag bag is full, and I still have far too many old garments, too disreputable for charity, stuffed into drawers or the bottom of the closet. I hate to throw them out because of the huge environmental costs of making them.
I’m not alone. Ellen Hrivnak recently sent an email, wondering what to do with worn textiles, such as old dishtowels, linens, towels, T-shirts and clothing. “There’s a limit to how many can be converted for dust rags,” she says.
She has taken old bath towels to the Humane Society, where sheets and blankets are also welcomed for lining cages. But what about other shabby fabric items?
Donate them to The Salvation Army (along with some decent things, too).
You’ll be doing yourself a big favour.
Plus, the army’s Thrift Stores generate millions of dollars for shelters and social programs, while diverting tonnes of material from the dump. And, believe it or not, old textiles can produce a few cents a pound of revenue.
“There are very few circumstance where clothing should be discarded to landfills,” says Bill May, property and facilities manager for the Army’s National Recycling Operations. “As long as it’s not extremely contaminated with oil or chemicals, there is a home for it.”
Clothing and textiles that can’t be sold in the army’s Thrift Stores because they are stained, or a zipper is broken, or it’s overly worn, are baled and sent to textile graders, mainly in the Toronto and Montreal areas.
“These graders resort the material. Some is turned into rags and other items are sold for the fibre content and used to make things such as upholstery stuffing,” May explains. “Some of this material is also sent to overseas markets where there is great demand.”
I went out to the Salvation Army’s recycling warehouse at 2360 South Service Rd. W. in Oakville, where the shabby textiles end up. The facility serves as a hub for 30 Thrift Stores (soon to be 32 with additions in Brantford and Pickering) in a region stretching from Windsor to Fenelon Falls and north to Newmarket.
Some donations are brought to the Oakville centre, but usually they’re dropped off at stores, where they’re sorted. What can’t be sold at a particular location is trucked to the 50,000-square-foot warehouse.
Overseeing the operation are May and Derek Gamelin. They’re a well-matched pair, both with retail experience: May from grocery stores and Gamelin from the big box sector.
Six baling machines are used to handle textiles, as well as other recyclable materials such as cardboard, plastic bags and shrink wrap. Michael Saliba, an employee of five years, was preparing textiles to be sent to recyclers.
Nearby were bales of clothing, built with a combination of loose and bagged items. They’re to be shipped to the Salvation Army in Jamaica in time for Christmas. A few stuffed animals peak out.
Used stuffed toys aren’t big sellers in stores here, but May says the unsalable ones are recycled, with the fabric shredded and stuffing removed by textile graders.
For sure, the Salvation Army wants to treat its donors and their donations with respect at a time when competition for used goods from for-profit operators is intense. Indeed, the army has had to pull its collection bins off streets because of vandalism.
Thrift Stores take just about any type of textile, even items such as pantyhouse (stop saving them for making rag rugs) or underwear, as long as they’re not contaminated with biologicals, as May terms it. Stained comforters or blankets are used to line shipping boxes.
You can donate other difficult-to-get-rid of things at Thrift Stores as well:
• Electronics: The Salvation Army is paid by the tonne for collecting old computers, TVs and other items under Ontario’s electronics recycling program.
• Records: May says 78 rpm records end up in special sales. Old 45s are particularly collectible.
• Cars: Yes, if you have a clunker, donate it and get a tax receipt.
• Metal: Small bits and pieces, including bike frames, broken pots and pans, wiring, old Christmas lights, even a container of mismatched screws. No big appliances, though.
• Books, even encyclopedias: Thrift Stores get far more volumes than they can ever sell, but the excess is sorted, loaded up and trucked to dealers in the U.S.
“It’s interesting,” says Gamelin, reaching into a box of old books, “but it makes me a little sad sometimes.” He pulls out 1001 Dairy Dishesfrom the Sealtest Kitchens from 1963. Tucked among the pages are recipe clippings, an LCBO order form from the old days, and a Simpson’s receipt. Probably from an estate.
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[blueeyetea]

Thanks. This is useful. The thrift shop I usually give to only accepts clothes in near pristine condition, and I was wondering what to do with the clothes that have tears and stuff like that.

[PurpleBunny89]

This is awsome! I wish I knew. Its really too bad too because I threw out a pair of jammie pants about a week ago that had a hole the size of someones head in the crotch area. I felt so guilty throwing pink panther in the garbage. From now on I'll just toss everything in the exact same bag and make the trek to the next town as opposed to only dropping off the nice stuff 5 minutes away.

[PurpleBunny89]

Sent the link in an email to some family and friends.