Textile Recycling Facts Over 80 billion NEW garments are produced annually, worldwide. The average person discards 82 pounds of textiles a year W hile Recyclers in the Textile Industry are recovering 3.8 billion pounds of textile waste each year, this only accounts for 15% of all textile waste, leaving 85% in our landfills, which equates to 70 pounds per person. The EPA estimates that more than 5.2% of our solid waste stream in the US is occupied by Textile Waste that COULD BE RECYLED, totaling over 13 million tons Between 1999 and 2009, the volume of textile waste generated grew by 40% and the diversion rate only increased by 2%. It is currently estimated that this volume will increase by 10 million pounds in 2019.
The State of Kentucky Spent $9,101,138.06 in 2012 to Dispose of Clothing and Household Textiles 2012 total landfilled solid waste in Kentucky reached 5,117,599 tons (KENTUCKY DIVISION OF WASTE MANAGEMENT Annual Report Fiscal Year 2013) 5.2% of 5,117,599 tons = 266,115 tons of Textile Waste Tipping fees in 2012 averaged out at $34.20 a ton The Impact on Kentucky
HOW IT WORKS 45% is reused as second hand clothing. 30% is repurposed into reclaimed wiping rags, industrial absorbents and other repurposed goods. 20% is recycled into fiber materials such as home insulation, carpet pad, and raw material for the automotive industry. Natural fibers can also be shredded and rewoven into yarns. Polyester based textiles are shredded then granulated into chips, which are then melted down and used to create new fibers for new polyester fabrics. The list is endless of how much new can be created from textile waste. Based on so many uses from textile waste, only about 5% of textiles recaptured from landfills end up as waste.
SMART “SMART was green before green was SMART.” One of SMART’s primary focus is promoting high standards and the best practices to use for reducing solid waste by recycling textiles and related secondary materials.
Council For Textile Recycling Sister organization to SMART; 501c3 charitable org Goal is to educate public about textile recycling and to promote zero textile waste in landfills by 2037 Membership for MUNICIPALITIES is FREE OF CHARGE www.weardonaterecycle.org