Washington state residents give a thumbs up to clothing recycling

Four million pounds of clothing and shoes were diverted from landfills thanks to Washington state residents. That’s 849 garbage trucks diverted from going to landfills.

Four million pounds of clothing and shoes were diverted from landfills thanks to Washington state residents. That’s 849 garbage trucks diverted from going to landfills.

USAgain, the national textile recycler provides an outlet to give surplus clothing a second life through a network of thousands of recycling bins located nationwide. By diverting 3,715,763 pounds of textiles, USAgain and its patrons prevented 26 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere, saved more than 5 billion gallons of water, and 21,232 cubic yards of landfill space.

USAgain recycling programs are hosted in partnership with municipalities, local businesses, event based community drives and fundraisers for schools and nonprofits.

“We want to commend the local communities for their commitment to sustainability. These collections continue to keep clothing out of our landfills having a positive impact on our environment,” said USAgain CEO Mattias Wallander. “Textile recycling programs are getting attention from municipalities with a goal to improve their overall waste diversion rates and we are working diligently to assist with their goal.”

Recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows 5.7 percent of the municipal solid waste (MSW) is textiles. A staggering 12 million tons of clothing and shoes end up in the garbage and make their way to the landfills every year.

“We are making progress but our mission is to further reduce the amount of clothing that ends up in the landfills through education and outreach events in addition to our clothing recycling bins,” Wallander said. “Every bit counts and our goal is to gain more partnerships and increase the textile recycling rate to 75 percent.”