Curbside clothing recycling, available on your normal trash pickup day, is a program already underway in a few local communities. Now, Anderson Township is exploring its options and hopes to have a textile recycling program possibly in place by summer.
“Statistics show some 85 percent of clothing ends up in the landfill,” noted Assistant Administrator for Operations Steve Sievers. “We’ve seen data that shows the average person throws away 68 pounds of clothing per year,” he said. The goal of a textile recycling program would be to eliminate this portion of the municipal waste stream by making it easier to get clothing to a recycling bundler who then gets paid a price per ton for sales of the cast-off clothing.
Proposals are currently being solicited for the textile recycling services, Sievers said. Montgomery, Colerain Township and the city of Cincinnati have recently started the curbside service at no cost to taxpayers or the municipality. Those programs use colorful plastic bags that are available for free. Residents merely fill the bags and place them on the curb on their regular garbage day.
Township officials said they will continue to urge residents who donate clothing to local charities to do so, agencies such as St. Vincent de Paul, Goodwill, AMVETS, Vietnam Veterans of America and others. The program will focus on capturing those materials that would otherwise have been dumped in the trash can.
“The abundance of textiles going into our landfill is increasing at an alarming rate,” said Trustee Dee Stone. “We see this as a win-win, as an opportunity to continue to increase the curbside recycling opportunities to our residents, yet also promote the local non-profits that accept these materials as well,” she added.
In 2017, township officials were instrumental in working with Rumpke, the largest waste hauler in the township, to offer a rate that essentially provides free curbside recycling to their customers. Residents can still sign up for the free curbside recycling by calling Rumpke at 1-880-828-8171. Anderson Township continues to provide the largest drop-off recycling site in Greater Cincinnati at 7954 Beechmont Ave.
Local textile recyclers include:
· Store drop-off
o St. Vincent de Paul: 2300 Beechmont Ave, in Mt. Washington
o Goodwill: 4051 Commercial Blvd. in Withamsville (next to Lowe’s)
· Schedule a Pickup
o Vietnam Veterans of America 1-800-775-VETS
o AmVets 1-888- 518-VETS (8387)
To view the township’s Request for Proposals, please see below.