Recycling clothes, keeping textile waste out of Waukesha County landfills
Recycling clothes keeps waste out of landfills
St. Vincent de Paul recycled 3.5 million pounds of textile waste last year into insulation, soccer fields, and road repairs.
NEW BERLIN, Wis. - After someone left a dozen garbage bags full of soiled and torn clothes on the doorstep of The Women's Center, it raised an important question.
Recycling clothes
What we know:
When anyone makes a donation of old clothes to St. Vincent de Paul, and workers cannot sell it in the thrift shop, it goes to New Berlin. Senior Director of Business Operations Ryan Bay took FOX6 News on a tour of the plant there on Tuesday, May 19.
"Last year, we recycled a total of 3.5 million pounds of textile waste," Bay said. "Fabrics can be reused to create new fabrics, insulation for your cars, homes."
Ryan Bay
Inside huge bags are hundreds of shows. Bay said the soles can be shredded to make soccer fields or even road repairs.
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"How do you know where you’re sending it to; they’re actually recycling it?" asked FOX6's Bret Lemoine.
"That’s a great question, actually," Bay replied.
Vendors researched
Dig deeper:
Bay said St. Vincent de Paul researches each vendor to make sure items are not sent to the dump or incinerator.
Bay said you can drop off clothes you would otherwise throw out into St. Vincent de Paul bins. Workers will sift through it.
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Bay said profits from sales in the thrift shop or to a recycling center, all go back to local St. Vincent de Paul programs.
"We try to keep all of those things – everything that we can out of landfills," Bay said.
Host a blue bin
What you can do:
St. Vincent de Paul Society of Waukesha County is also looking for businesses or organizations to host one of those blue bins. Learn how you or your company can become involved.
Waukesha Women's Center unwanted donations; operators see rising trend
Someone surprised The Women's Center in Waukesha with unwanted donations. It is part of a rising trend the organization is trying to stop.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by St. Vincent de Paul Society of Waukesha County.