Request
| I am a designer and up cyclist based in london, currently undertaking a museum commission for which i am researching waste management within the uk and in particularly within the fashion industry. from researching into textile waste in the uk previously and having worked directly with charity shops and sorting centres, i hope that you may be able to share some further knowledge surrounding this and if possible, schedule a meeting to visit a facility. in 2017, i was taken to view the edmonton waste facility whereby gas and organic compost was made from non-recyclable waste. from my understanding, there are clothing banks and charities based across the uk, whom have their own methods of redistributing clothing waste and donations. i am still unsure how some of this clothing waste is shipped across seas or distributed to textile recycling centres. as an environmentalist, i would like to understand more about how we manage our waste and how i could potentially provide further solutions through my practice. |
Response
Thank you for getting in touch regarding textile recycling.
Textiles are collected from Reuse and Recycling Centres and transported to Northants for sorting between items that are suitable for reuse and those which are no longer wearable. Reusable items are sold to members of the public, and items which are no longer wearable are recycled into wiper cloths for use in industry. You can see further details of the end destination for textiles on this webpage https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/article/what-happens-my-recycling/textiles.
You mentioned the possibility of visiting a facility but I’m afraid we do not operate a textile facility so we cannot help you with the request. However, you may find this video interesting in terms of what happens at a Materials Recycling Facility - https://www.nlwa.gov.uk/article/what-happens-materials-recycling-facility-mrf
For wider sources of information on textiles recycling you may find the following useful:
Textile Recycling Association is the UK’s trade association for collectors, sorters, processors and exporters of used clothing and textiles, and may be able to help you with general information about the textile recycling process and infrastructure - https://www.textile-recycling.org.uk/
LMB recycling may also be a useful point of contact for general information on textile recycling - http://www.lmb.co.uk/
I do hope the information above is useful, but if you do have any further specific questions that you think we may be able to assist you with please do feel free to get back in touch.
With best wishes
