Push to recycle more clothes and other textiles in West Sussex

Residents are being urged to recycle their worn fabrics and clothes after a study of West Sussex households showed that textiles make up five per cent of the rubbish sent to landfill.
Ford recycling centreFord recycling centre
Ford recycling centre

Clothes, shoes, towels, sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases, tea towels, oven gloves and curtains, can all be recycled, reducing carbon emissions and saving West Sussex County Council money.

Items that are in good condition can be donated to charity shops or taken to the 11 household waste recycling centres across West Sussex.

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They can also be recycled at ‘bring’ banks which can be found in car parks and supermarkets.

Torn or broken items can also be taken to the recycling centres or the ‘bring’ banks.

David Barling, WSCC’s cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “If textiles are sent to landfill they produce a staggering amount of carbon dioxide. This can be more than 25 times higher than if they had been recycled.

“As well as the environmental benefits, there are also financial implications to be considered too. Landfill tax is costly, so recycling textiles can mean more funds are available for services.”

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The council has calculated that £24,000 could be saved if each West Sussex household recycled one towel a year, while £50,000 could be saved if one pair of shoes was recycled per household.

All of the textiles delivered to any of the county’s household waste recycling sites are processed in the UK.

The donated items are either sorted to be worn again or recycled into useful products such as felt, insulation or stuffing.

To find your nearest household waste recycling site visit www.recycleforwestsussex.org

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Or to find out how to waste less textiles visit www.wastepreventionwestsussex.co.uk

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