GLADSTONE, Mo. — According to the EPA, textile waste occupies about five percent of landfill space.
"Which sounds small, but when you consider all the landfills, it is a large number," Outreach Coordinator for MARC Solid Waste Management, Matt Riggs said. "You know, the average person throws away around 70 pounds of clothing per year."
He said one of the issues when it comes to people throwing away clothes, is it becomes an "end of pipe" solution.
"The stuff has already been created and you're just dealing with it now that it's in your hands and you want to get rid of it," Riggs said. "But we always try to look more upstream, you know towards waste reduction and not creating that waste in the first place. Because there's actually a lot more resources and energy that go into creating the stuff upstream that we never see versus downstream which is what we do see."
One of the ways to be sustainable is donating items or buying gently used ones at thrift stores and resale shops.
"We like to think of items from being loved to reloved," Janet Geary said.
Geary is the manager of the ReSale Shop in Gladstone, Missouri — a thrift store that's part of the Assistance League of Kansas City.
The shop takes in several kinds of donations, but ones they're unable to take, they work to make sure they still find a good home.
"We are specific in items we choose to get," Geary said. "But we also practice sustainability in that we try to move that on to another organization that can utilize them. We make donations to Ozanam services, City Union Mission, Clay County Clothes Closet and Family Promise of the Northland, and hopefully they're able to use those things as well.
Proceeds from the thrift store support funding for Assistance League of Kansas City's philanthropic programs, which provide several resources for families in need.
Right now, the store is in need of donations. Here's a look at what they do accept:
- Men’s, women’s, children’s, baby clothes and shoes
- Household items
- Home decor and decorative items
- China, dishes, linens and towels
- Accessories
- Framed wall art
- Seasonal holiday items
- Toys, puzzles, bicycles and tricycles
- Jewelry
- Books
- Furniture
- Vintage and collectibles
- Sports Items
They do not accept:
- Mattresses
- Televisions, computers, computer parts or printers
- Encyclopedias, bibles or hymnals
- Large exercise equipment and appliances
- Baby cribs and infant car seats
- Hazardous materials, such as paint
- Building material
If you'd like to donate items that aren't accepted on the list, but are unsure where to go, you can find the correct location online. You'll type in the items you'd like to donate, and it will show where you can take them.
Riggs says to be mindful of the items you donate.
"Empty the pockets, remove stuff like hair and other stuff that you know if you ran across it, would you want to buy it or would you want to wear it," Riggs said. "Also, if you throw something in there that's moldy or dirty, it can contaminate other stuff around it. They may have to get rid of a whole bag of stuff if you put something in there that's wet and makes everything moldy and nasty."
Also, if there's clothing that's heavily damaged, you can still donate it to major thrift stores.
Riggs said they have secondary reuse markets and recycling markets for items they can't sell in-store, meaning if it's just a small mark or faded spot, it might be shipped overseas to a secondhand clothing market. If it's major damage, it might be graded for recycling where it would become a cloth rag or something else.
