In Nova Scotia, we throw out about 30,000 tonnes of old clothes and other textiles each year, unnecessarily filling up our landfills. In HRM alone, it is likely about 12,000 tonnes.
Almost all of those textiles can be put in those donations bins you see all around the province, at malls, shopping centres and many Enviro Depots. There are over 500 donation bin locations in the Province, and they accept a lot more than you probably expect.
Here are some myths and facts about textile donations:
Myth | Fact |
---|---|
They only take clothes people can wear. | They want all the textiles they can get. Socks with holes. Single shoes. Broken Umbrellas. Faded curtains. Old teddy bears. What can’t be worn again can be sold for textile recycling. |
Stained clothes should be thrown in the garbage. | Unless it is wet with oil or grease that could get on other clothes, it should be donated. Stains don’t matter. |
The Otter Lake Community Monitoring Committee would like to encourage people to donate their textiles to the community organizations who set up the donation bins across Nova Scotia. Find out more at http://www.afterwear.ca.