{"id":52097,"date":"2021-02-24T14:42:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T14:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcity.org\/daily\/entry\/how-nyc-is-stopping-textile-waste-with-low-tech-donation-bins"},"modified":"2021-02-24T14:42:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T14:42:00","slug":"how-nyc-is-stopping-textile-waste-with-low-tech-donation-bins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/02\/24\/how-nyc-is-stopping-textile-waste-with-low-tech-donation-bins\/","title":{"rendered":"How NYC Is Stopping Textile Waste With Low-Tech Donation Bins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t

Models wearing clothing sourced from donations to Housing Works and Big Reuse, for Refashion Week NYC. (Stylist: Sheryl Roberts; Photographer: Charlie Eisenbach; photo courtesy DSNY)<\/p><\/figcaption>\n\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t \n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Indigo dyed fabrics, tote bags from plastic waste, colorful 3-D printed shoes \u2014 and restyled, donated garments. That\u2019s just a handful of what you\u2019re likely to see walking into New York\u2019s annual Refashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\n

Refashion Week<\/a><\/span>, which begins this week, is co-produced by the Sanitation Foundation and donateNYC. It\u2019s designed to build awareness around the environmental impact of the fashion industry, and encourage people to be more conscious of their style choices. It\u2019s also designed to make them aware of local solutions.<\/p>\n\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a growing awareness around the problem, which is great,\u201d <\/span>says Julie Raskin, head of the Sanitation Foundation and one of Refashion Week\u2019s co-producers. \u201cbut I think what\u2019s become more important is, there\u2019s enough people now that know about this problem but don\u2019t feel equipped to do anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every year, New Yorkers throw out 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles; that\u2019s roughly 5,000 semi-trucks full, an enormous amount of waste. One locally-based answer to that waste is the <\/span>city\u2019s donateNYC platform and sister textile recycling program, refashionNYC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like, the best-kept secret that we wish weren\u2019t a secret,\u201d Raskin adds.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how the refashionNYC program works. First, residents can file a <\/span>request<\/a> with the Department of Sanitation for a bin to be installed, either in an office building, a school or other institutional building, a commercial business, or an apartment building with 10 or more units. The Department of Sanitation will meet with a representative of the building \u2014 the landlord, business manager, etc. \u2014 to approve the request, then deliver the bin. When the bin is full, the building notifies the department of Sanitation and Housing Works arranges pickup.<\/p>\n\n

After picking the material up, Housing Works sorts it in their warehouse, according to spokesperson Elizabeth Koke. Some donations are sold in their 10 thrift shops throughout the city or listed online, while others are sent to other nonprofit second-hand stores or exported to overseas markets. Even non-donatable goods \u2014 clothing too ripped, damaged, or dirty to be reworn \u2014 can be sold to a textile merchant to be \u201cdownstream recycled,\u201d reprocessed as cleaning rags or seat padding. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThings that may have a hole in it or kind of worn out, we\u2019ll still take it in the bins,\u201d says city Department of Sanitation spokesperson Belinda Mager. \u201cWe\u2019ll still make use of it so it doesn\u2019t end up in the landfill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

To date, refashionNYC bins have been installed in nearly 1,300 locations. The majority of them are located in residential buildings, although Mager says the program also maintains bins in schools, some commercial establishments, and other agencies\/institutions.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n

The refashionNYC program isn\u2019t new; <\/span>it started in 2011<\/a>, almost ten years ago, and since then, it\u2019s diverted more than 12,200 tons of clothing and textiles. But still, that\u2019s only a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of tons that go to waste annually. Would the city like to see the program expand? <\/p>\n\n

Absolutely, both Raskin and Mager say. But resources for additional advertising and awareness campaigns are limited, so awareness is mainly spread through the city\u2019s social media and website highlights, outreach staff mentions at meetings, events, or training programs, and word-of-mouth… and, of course, Refashion Week. <\/span><\/p>\n\n

And the space requirements for the bins themselves \u2014 small bins are about the size of a small refrigerator, while large bins are a little less than double that \u2014 can also limit the amount of building managers willing to accommodate. \u201cIt <\/span>is New York City,\u201d says Mager, \u201cand there\u2019s hundreds of buildings in NYC with weird logistics, [that] weren\u2019t built with recycling in mind.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

There\u2019s also the limitation of Housing Works\u2019 capacity, although Koke says the thrift store chain has a back up plan for that\u2026 the donations could be directed to other New York City second-hand stores and nonprofits, if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe can scale up a bit at our warehouse, [and] if we reach beyond our capacity our contract with the city allows us to employ other non-profit subcontractors.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cWe would love to spread the word,\u201d says Raskin. \u201cWe\u2019ve thought about taking the show on the road and helping other cities put on their own Refashion Weeks.\u201d But, she adds, a key part of the process is discussing actionable, transferable solutions; \u201cI think that\u2019s extremely valuable and necessary\u2026 I\u2019m not sure the same [approach] would necessarily work in a less dense city, for example.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n

As simple as the refashionNYC program may seem, there aren\u2019t many parallels of it in cities across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

In Philadelphia, residents are cautioned to keep clothing and other textiles out of the recycling, since they\u2019re not accepted in the city\u2019s program (although just last year, the city <\/span>announced a partnership with Retrievr<\/a> that allows residents to schedule appointments and have the service pick up recyclable clothing at their doorstep; it\u2019s not yet clear how often Philadelphians are making those appointments, or how much waste the service has managed to divert). In Washington D.C., the Zero Waste program<\/a> promotes textile reuse, recovery and recycling \u2014 and maintains a directory of clothing donation locations \u2014 but doesn\u2019t have any city-run programs for residents to divert that waste.<\/p>\n\n

That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t other initiatives dedicated to reducing waste in cities. In Seattle, a campaign called <\/span>Threadcycle<\/a>, run jointly by King County Solid Waste Division and Seattle Public Utilities, allows residents to drop off clothing and textiles at dozens of sites or schedule for a pickup. Just this past year, Austin Resource Recovery partnered with Goodwill Central Texas to launch a curbside collection program<\/a> for clothing and linen donations. And there\u2019s other nationwide programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters<\/a> or Gaia Movement<\/a> that offer clothing collection boxes in certain local areas. <\/p>\n\n

Still, it\u2019s hard to beat the convenience of a donation bin in your apartment building.<\/span><\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t

Hannah Chinn is a freelance writer for Next City. She's also a reporter for WHYY News, covering watershed and environmental issues in Philadelphia, PA. Previously, she reported neighborhood news and city planning and policy stories for WHYY’s PlanPhilly.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t \n\t\n

This post was originally published on Next City<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\n

Models wearing clothing sourced from donations to Housing Works and Big Reuse, for Refashion Week NYC. (Stylist: Sheryl Roberts;\u00a0Photographer: Charlie Eisenbach; photo courtesy DSNY)<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Indigo dyed fabrics, tote bags from plastic waste, colorful 3-D printed shoes \u2014 and restyled, donated garments. That\u2019s just a handful of what you\u2019re likely to see walking into New York\u2019s annual Refashion Week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Refashion Week<\/a><\/span>, which begins this week, is co-produced by the Sanitation Foundation and donateNYC. It\u2019s designed to build awareness around the environmental impact of the fashion industry, and encourage people to be more conscious of their style choices. It\u2019s also designed to make them aware of local solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a growing awareness around the problem, which is great,\u201d <\/span>says Julie Raskin, head of the Sanitation Foundation and one of Refashion Week\u2019s co-producers. \u201cbut I think what\u2019s become more important is, there\u2019s enough people now that know about this problem but don\u2019t feel equipped to do anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Every year, New Yorkers throw out 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles; that\u2019s roughly 5,000 semi-trucks full, an enormous amount of waste. One locally-based answer to that waste is the <\/span>city\u2019s donateNYC platform and sister textile recycling program, refashionNYC.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like, the best-kept secret that we wish weren\u2019t a secret,\u201d Raskin adds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s how the refashionNYC program works. First, residents can file a <\/span>request<\/a> with the Department of Sanitation for a bin to be installed, either in an office building, a school or other institutional building, a commercial business, or an apartment building with 10 or more units. The Department of Sanitation will meet with a representative of the building \u2014 the landlord, business manager, etc. \u2014 to approve the request, then deliver the bin. When the bin is full, the building notifies the department of Sanitation and Housing Works arranges pickup.<\/p>\n

After picking the material up, Housing Works sorts it in their warehouse, according to spokesperson Elizabeth Koke. Some donations are sold in their 10 thrift shops throughout the city or listed online, while others are sent to other nonprofit second-hand stores or exported to overseas markets. Even non-donatable goods \u2014 clothing too ripped, damaged, or dirty to be reworn \u2014 can be sold to a textile merchant to be \u201cdownstream recycled,\u201d reprocessed as cleaning rags or seat padding. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThings that may have a hole in it or kind of worn out, we\u2019ll still take it in the bins,\u201d says city Department of Sanitation spokesperson Belinda Mager. \u201cWe\u2019ll still make use of it so it doesn\u2019t end up in the landfill.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To date, refashionNYC bins have been installed in nearly 1,300 locations. The majority of them are located in residential buildings, although Mager says the program also maintains bins in schools, some commercial establishments, and other agencies\/institutions.<\/span> <\/p>\n

The refashionNYC program isn\u2019t new; <\/span>it started in 2011<\/a>, almost ten years ago, and since then, it\u2019s diverted more than 12,200 tons of clothing and textiles. But still, that\u2019s only a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of tons that go to waste annually. Would the city like to see the program expand? <\/p>\n

Absolutely, both Raskin and Mager say. But resources for additional advertising and awareness campaigns are limited, so awareness is mainly spread through the city\u2019s social media and website highlights, outreach staff mentions at meetings, events, or training programs, and word-of-mouth\u2026 and, of course, Refashion Week. <\/span><\/p>\n

And the space requirements for the bins themselves \u2014 small bins are about the size of a small refrigerator, while large bins are a little less than double that \u2014 can also limit the amount of building managers willing to accommodate. \u201cIt <\/span>is New York City,\u201d says Mager, \u201cand there\u2019s hundreds of buildings in NYC with weird logistics, [that] weren\u2019t built with recycling in mind.\u201d <\/p>\n

There\u2019s also the limitation of Housing Works\u2019 capacity, although Koke says the thrift store chain has a back up plan for that\u2026 the donations could be directed to other New York City second-hand stores and nonprofits, if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can scale up a bit at our warehouse, [and] if we reach beyond our capacity our contract with the city allows us to employ other non-profit subcontractors.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe would love to spread the word,\u201d says Raskin. \u201cWe\u2019ve thought about taking the show on the road and helping other cities put on their own Refashion Weeks.\u201d But, she adds, a key part of the process is discussing actionable, transferable solutions; \u201cI think that\u2019s extremely valuable and necessary\u2026 I\u2019m not sure the same [approach] would necessarily work in a less dense city, for example.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As simple as the refashionNYC program may seem, there aren\u2019t many parallels of it in cities across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

In Philadelphia, residents are cautioned to keep clothing and other textiles out of the recycling, since they\u2019re not accepted in the city\u2019s program (although just last year, the city <\/span>announced a partnership with Retrievr<\/a> that allows residents to schedule appointments and have the service pick up recyclable clothing at their doorstep; it\u2019s not yet clear how often Philadelphians are making those appointments, or how much waste the service has managed to divert). In Washington D.C., the Zero Waste program<\/a> promotes textile reuse, recovery and recycling \u2014 and maintains a directory of clothing donation locations \u2014 but doesn\u2019t have any city-run programs for residents to divert that waste.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t other initiatives dedicated to reducing waste in cities. In Seattle, a campaign called <\/span>Threadcycle<\/a>, run jointly by King County Solid Waste Division and Seattle Public Utilities, allows residents to drop off clothing and textiles at dozens of sites or schedule for a pickup. Just this past year, Austin Resource Recovery partnered with Goodwill Central Texas to launch a curbside collection program<\/a> for clothing and linen donations. And there\u2019s other nationwide programs like Big Brothers Big Sisters<\/a> or Gaia Movement<\/a> that offer clothing collection boxes in certain local areas. <\/p>\n

Still, it\u2019s hard to beat the convenience of a donation bin in your apartment building.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Hannah Chinn\u00a0is a freelance writer for Next City. She’s also a reporter for WHYY News, covering watershed and environmental issues in Philadelphia, PA. Previously, she reported neighborhood news and city planning and policy stories for WHYY\u2019s\u00a0PlanPhilly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2550,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2550"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52097"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52098,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52097\/revisions\/52098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}