Recycling of Low Grade Clothing Waste - Oakdene Hollins

© Oakdene Hollins Ltd, Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd
Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute Ltd September 2006
mind of the person discarding the material. If it is clearly being ‘donated’
for secondary use, then it is not waste. Furthermore, the Agency argument
will depend on the amount waste material in each textile bank load, many
of which may contain less waste material than in loads from other sources.
Both the Agency and the merchants agree, however, that once sorted the
re‐usable portion of textile bank collection is no longer waste.
4.4.2 Local Authority
It is the Landfill Regulations that motivate Local Authorities to promote
recycling in the household waste stream through the setting up of the
Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme (LATS). Targets for the diversion of
biodegradable waste from landfilling are driving the move to increasing
kerbside collection of a variety of wastes which are suitable for recycling.
Because 50% of used textiles are biodegradable, some authorities have
either set up schemes for textiles or are co‐operating positively with the
existing collection infrastructure.
4.5 Public Perception
The key factors directing consumers to donate their used clothing and other
textiles for free, rather than to dispose of them to waste, are:
• The public perception that the giving of used clothing to a textile bank,
a charity shop or to a door‐to‐door collection scheme is a charitable
donation to Third World countries.
• The growing awareness, through public promotion, of the
environmental benefits of the re‐use and recycling of as much
household waste as is practical. This in turn is driven by the financial
incentives placed on Local Authorities to achieve increasing recycling
targets.
As noted above, a small amount of clothing may be sold privately rather
than donated free to the charities. Some retailers sell second‐hand clothing
as agents for the original owner, who then receives a percentage of the sales
price once the item is sold. This disposal route is only suitable for relatively
high value items and is not considered further in this study.
Clearly many charities benefit from the profit made through the re‐sale of
donated used clothes. However, it is not widely realised that the ultimate
Third World beneficiaries are, in fact, paying for the clothes donated, and
that once the materials are passed on from the collecting charity to textile
merchants and exporters, trading is carried out purely on a commercial
basis. This fact is, of course, a fundamental requirement of merchant’s
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