S.M.A.R.T. Applauds Expansion of San Francisco’s Zero Waste Program to Include Textiles

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) applauds the announcement that the City of San Francisco is adding used clothing to its recycling program. San Francisco officials said the program is the first of its kind to be sponsored by a major American city. They announced the “Zero Waste Textile Initiative” at a news conference held January 15, 2014.

Containers labeled “SF Save Fashion” are being placed alongside existing recycling containers in more than 100 locations in major retail outlets throughout the city. Apparel, shoes, belts and household textiles will be collected and sorted by I:Collect which is also participating in the program. I:Collect is a subsidiary of SMART member company SOEX.  The materials will then be distributed to Goodwill, along with other charities and for-profit clothing recycling companies. The items will be re-used as clothing or will be re-manufactured into new products such as industrial wiping and polishing cloths, home insulation, carpet padding, stuffing for pet bedding among many other products. 

San Francisco joins several other U.S. cities that partner with private industry to collect used clothing as part of their recycling programs. More than a dozen municipalities in New Jersey partner with SMART member company Trans-Americas Trading to recycle used clothing and household textiles. United Fiber, another SMART member, launched a curbside recycling program in 2012 in the town of Queen Creek AZ, just outside Phoenix. And, the city of St. Paul, MN encourages residents to recycle their used clothing in its curbside collection program. Items must be clean and dry and placed in a plastic bag labeled “clothing and linens.”

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, more than 13 million tons of solid municipal waste is generated annual that is exclusively clothing and other household textiles; of this amount 2 million tons, only 15.3%, is recycled. Source#1

“San Francisco’s commitment to reducing, even eliminating, municipal solid waste is very commendable. Not only does the city’s new initiative promoting clothing and textile recycling remove these items from the waste stream, the EPA reports recycling used clothing has a major beneficial impact on reducing greenhouse gasses,” says SMART Executive Director, Jackie King.

In its 2011 study of Municipal Solid Waste, the U.S. EPA has calculated the impact the current level of recycling has Greenhouse Gases in the United States. The EPA report indicates the 2 million tons of textiles are currently recycled annually; this is the equivalent of removing 1 million cars from America’s highways.  This is more than 5-times the impact of recycled yard trimmings (170 thousand cars removed); is more than 4-times the impact of glass recycling (210 thousand cars removed); more than plastic recycling (640 thousand cars removed); and is nearly equal to the impact of aluminum recycling (1.3 million cars removed).Source#2

SMART estimates that ninety‐five percent of all clothing and household textiles can be recycled or repurposed as long as the items are dry and odor-free (not contaminated by a solvent such as gasoline). In addition to being re-used as clothing items, the re-purposing of textile products includes converting them into wiping cloths or re-manufacturing them into products such as home insulation, carpet padding, or sound proofing material.

SOURCE:
1:Table 1, Page 7. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2011.

2:Table 5, Page 12. Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2011.