Central Ohio launches pilot recycling program to give clothes a second life

UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio (WCMH) -- Ripped, stained and worn-out clothes usually end up in a landfill. But a new local recycling pilot program could give them a second life.

The Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO) is spearheading the effort along with partners across Franklin County. 

The pilot is the first of it's kind in the state. According to leaders, if all goes well, it could lead to permanent textile recycling sites in central Ohio.

The whole idea is to find creative ways to divert waste and give it a whole new purpose.

"As the seasons begin to change or your kids outgrow clothing, you may be cleaning out your closet," Hanna Greer-Brown, director of communications for SWACO, said. "This pilot is not for items that can be donated. We still want you to take those to the local VOA or Goodwill location. This is for items that you just you don't have a matching sock for, the sheets are completely torn or dirty, damaged. They can't be reused."

SWACO is working with the country's largest textile recycling company out of South Carolina to repurpose the clothing into things like furniture filling, soundproofing foam and stuffing for punching bags.

"Of the 76 percent of the material that comes to the landfill, four percent of that is clothing or textiles," Greer-Brown said. "So that might not seem like a lot, four-percent. But when you do the math, it's really one-hundred million pounds of clothing arriving at the landfill every year."

Bins have already been placed at numerous sites around central Ohio.

"We've had a great response so far," Katy Rees, program manager, said. "We've only had the bins out for about a month. We're filling up probably twice a week."

Organizers are asking that you sort your clothes yourself.

"That's different than what we're doing at home with our household recyclables, where everything goes into one container," Greer-Brown said. "So part of this pilot is testing our ability as a community to separate those materials and the cost effectiveness of being able to do that."

When you go to drop off your items, there are five different categories.

"So, we have one for T-shirts and sweatshirts," Rees said. "Anything that has like buttons or zippers, we call them hardware, that goes in one bin. And then just your regular t-shirts and sweatshirts without the hardware goes in a different one. There's one for old denim, polyester, and then we have our other category."

The other category includes socks, undergarments, sheets, towels and blankets. 

The program runs through August. SWACO will then collect data to determine whether it's feasible to bring a permanent recycling program to central Ohio. 

Items can be dropped off at the Goodwill location on North High Street and W. Fifth Ave., Ohio State's Kottman Hall, the SWACO Recycling Convenience Center or the Upper Arlington Public Service Center. Clothes will also be collected at the Bexley Farmers Market on July 31st.

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