Residents of Burnaby and New Westminster now have a convenient way to drop off their old or “unloved” clothing items, which currently comprise approximately five per cent of the region’s municipal solid waste.
Based on the success of a pilot project launched earlier this year, Return-It has established a permanent collection facility for textiles at the following locations:
- Edmonds Return-It
- Kensington Square Return-It
- Lougheed Return-It
- Metrotown Return-It
- Sapperton Return-It
- Queensborough Landing Return-It
Accepted items include a wide range of clothing, shoes and household textiles – such as blankets and towels.
“The average adult throws out about 81 pounds of clothing and other textiles every year,” said Allen Langdon, president and CEO of Return-It. “In Metro Vancouver alone, 40,000 tonnes of textiles end up in the landfill annually, making up approximately five per cent of the region’s municipal solid waste. Those numbers provide a clear rationale for our new expanded program.”
During the last seven months, Return-It collected 1,640 bags of textiles – weighing over 26 metric tonnes – to help breathe new life into old garments.
Residents now have a permanent option to drop off used clothing, shoes and household textiles. Examples of accepted items include:
- Clothing – Shirts, coats, pants, dresses, shorts and children’s clothes
- Textiles – Sheets, towels, curtains, drapes, blankets, linens
- Footwear – Shoes (all types), boots, slippers
Return-It has partnered with Bank & Vogue – one of the largest traders of used clothing in North America – to pursue a shared mandate of diverting waste from landfill. Items collected through the program are distributed to re-use organizations within Western Canada.
“Most of us have unused or unloved clothing taking up space at home,” added Langdon. “Now, more BC residents can conveniently recycle textiles while they’re returning refundable beverage containers and other items. Given the positive feedback from the pilot, I’m optimistic we’ll be able to continue to expand the program across the province.”
Members of the public are encouraged to check return-it.ca/locations/textiles for the latest depot locations participating in the program.
