Conserving textiles eases burden on landfills
USAgain, a Chicago-based textile collection company, announced its annual collection figures. In 2011 alone USAgain collected 60 million pounds of textiles for reuse and recycling around the globe.
Textile waste is a huge environmental issue. According to the EPA, Americans discard approximately 13.1 million tons of textiles annually. Only 15% of which is collected for reuse and recycling – leaving 11.2 million tons of textiles to be dumped in our nation’s landfills.
In 2011 USAgain kept 54.5 million items out of landfills, saving 342,857 cubic yards of landfill space and preventing 420,000,000 pounds of C02 from being released into the atmosphere.
“Everyday people throw away perfectly reusable and recyclable textiles, clothes and shoes because they don’t have a convenient option for recycling them,” said USAgain CEO Mattias Wallander. “It is our goal to prevent these items from being trashed and put them back in the use stream.”
USAgain, a green for-profit company, with over 10,000 drop-boxes located across 15 States, offers residents a convenient option for disposing unwanted clothing, shoes and other textiles. The collected textiles are sold second-hand in the United States and around the globe. Items that are not re-wearable are recycled into industrial wiping rags, furniture padding, insulation and more.
To find a drop box near you visit: www.usagain.com
About
USAgain, a leader in the textile recycling industry, with corporate headquarters in Chicago, is a for-profit company that recycles and resells unwanted clothing and other textiles. In 2011 alone, the company collected 60 million pounds of discarded clothing. USAgain operates over 10,000 collection bins in fifteen states. Their mission is to provide consumers with a convenient and eco-friendly option to rid themselves of excess clothing, which are then diverted from landfills.