Did you know?
It is estimated that more than 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year, with most of this coming from household sources. Textiles make up about 3% by weight of a household bin. At least 50% of the textiles we throw away are recyclable, however, the proportion of textile wastes reused or recycled annually in the UK is only around 25%.
Reduce
Buy higher quality, longer lasting clothes. They will save you money in the long run and reduce waste.
Reuse
Buy your clothes second hand from charity shops, you can often find some unusual items whilst donating to charity at the same time. Look for recycled content. Donate any unwanted items to charity shops or jumble sales.
There are many ways to customise or use old clothes and fabrics to make new ones. For ideas on howto get started have a look in your local library for books or the internet at sites like
Burda Style where you can download free patterns and step-by-step tutorials that show you how to make new clothes out of old or cutomise exisiting clothes.
Recycle
Please do not put your textiles in your orange sacks, they cannot be recycled this way.
You can recycle your unwanted textiles at many of
your local recycling banks. Click on the links below to find your nearest place.
You can also recycle unwanted textiles at your local
reuse and recycling centre.
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