Textile Recycling Program Gives New Life to Old Clothes, Money to Weymouth Schools

Any Weymouth residents looking for a place to discard unwanted clothes, towels, sheets, shoes or other household textiles have an opportunity to benefit the Weymouth Public Schools and keep recyclable materials out of landfills, all while cleaning out their closets.

Through a partnership with Bay State Textiles, drop boxes are housed in each of the Weymouth Public Schools. For each ton of textiles collected, the school earns $100.

In the first nine months of the program, April to December 2012, the Weymouth Public Schools earned $5,374 by collecting 107,480 pounds of unwanted textiles.

Annually, 520 million pounds of solid waste go into landfills, six percent of which is clothing and other textiles. Paul Curry of Bay State Textiles is working to take those items out of landfills and reuse them in different ways.

"I have textile recycling programs with municipalities across the state of Massachusetts," said Curry.

After a few years of collecting textiles at the Weymouth DPW Yard with limited success, Curry met with representatives from the Weymouth Public Schools. A pilot program was enacted to collect textiles in each school.

The success of the program has led Bay State Textiles to partner with Quincy, Abington and Plymouth public schools. Curry said he's in talks with 15 other schools districts to collect textiles in their buildings.

"We're trying to create sustainable programs in communities," said Curry.

After a solid start, Weymouth Public Schools have added a new partner, Drycleaning by Dorothy. The dry cleaner will serve as another drop off point and collect its own textiles to benefit the schools.

The post-consumer items collected in Weymouth will be sorted and graded. According to SMART (The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association), which Bay State Textiles is a member the recycled goods can be categorized as follows:

• 45 percent is used as apparel which is generally exported to least developed and developing countries where demand for secondhand clothing is particularly high.
• 30 percent of the recovered textiles become wiping and polishing cloths used in commercial and industrial settings.
• 20 percent is reprocessed into fibers for furniture stuffing, upholstery, insulation, sound proofing, carpet padding, building and other materials. 
• 5 percent is unusable and not fit for recycling.

Curry said almost any dry clothing item can be used someone. "If you have a ripped pair of jeans, we'll fund a home for it," Curry said.

For a list of acceptable items, visit http://www.baystatetextiles.com/recycled-cloth-items.htm