I was so shocked to find out that 235 Million items of clothes ended up on landfill last year!
Unfortunately we do live in a throwaway society (although lots of people and businesses are starting to change this) but thousands of people each day just throw perfectly suitable clothes into the bin.
I use to work opposite a charity shop and every week on “bin day” this said charity shop would pile bags and bags (you really would not believe the amount) of clothes and other items that they deemed unacceptable to sell on. These were put outside the shop for the bin men to arrive later in the morning and throw into the back of their wagon!! Even locals of the area got wise to what they do and they wait outside on the morning of ‘bin day’ to have a look through and many people would walk off with lots of clothes and other items – so they certainly were not bin worthy!
I must have seen hundreds of items thrown away from just 1 little charity shop in West Yorkshire – so the huge figure of 235 million that end up at landfill shouldn’t surprise me!
Unfortunately over the past 10 years clothing has been the fastest growing waste stream in the UK.
Now I know this would not change drastically, but if we all just gave some extra thought of what we did with them- then maybe these numbers could start to decline!
You just need to remember that just because it is ‘old’ to you – doesn’t make it old to someone else. To the next owner of the item – it is a ‘new’ item of clothing in their wardrobe.
One mans trash is another mans treasure.
If you don’t want it – ask around, see if anybody else wants it. Do a swap with friends. Make some extra cash and sell it. Give it to a reputable charity shop. Just don’t bin it!
#RECYCLE #REUSE #REDUCE