Recycling Clothing & Textiles

Did you know that in the UK around 336,000 tonnes of our unwanted clothing gets thrown away every year? The good news is that there are lots of simple ways to keep all clothing in use, and out of the bin. We all have clothes or textiles such as curtains, duvet covers and blankets that we don’t want any more or are past their best Clothes and textiles that are in good condition can be donated and sold for re-use. This is an important way to minimise the overall impact that clothing has on our environment. Items that aren’t suitable to be passed onto someone else can be recycled and made into new items, such as padding for chairs and car seats, cleaning cloths and industrial blankets.

How To Recycle Unwanted Clothes & Textiles

• Check to see if your council collects clothes and textiles to be recycled.

• Drop off your unwanted items at recycling points and clothing and textile banks in supermarket and local car parks

• Donate items to registered charities and re-use organisations.

• One of the most convenient ways to donate clothes is through registered charity collection services. Some charities, such as The British Heart Foundation, offer a free clothing collection service from your home. It's easy to arrange via their website. You don't even need to order a bag, just re-use your own bags and boxes from home.

• Many high street retailers such as TK Maxx and M&S now offer clothing donation banks in-store. These are sometimes called 'bring back schemes'. This means that next time you pop out to the shops, you can drop off a bag of your old clothes. Simple!

Could you give your clothes a second life? Visit the Love Your Clothes website for tips and guides to help you keep your clothes looking great and in use for longer.

Garden Tea Party

Thank you to everyone who supported our Garden Tea Party last Sunday. A lovely time was had by all and £550 was raised for our parther church in Richie,

South Africa.

RECYCLING PLASTIC FILM & CARRIER BAGS AT SUPERMARKETS

Continuing with ‘Plastic Free July’ did you know that some larger supermarkets will accept plastic for recycling that your local authority won’t?

See https://www.recyclenow.com/cy/node/3062 for more information.

For those who can't recycle plastic film at home, some types of plastic films can be recycled at carrier bag collection points at the larger stores of most major supermarkets including locally, Sainsbury’s at Lake End, Tesco at Bishop Centre and Waitrose Maidenhead to name a few. See below for a list of recyclable plastic packaging.

WHICH TYPES OF PLASTIC FILM CAN BE RECYCLED?

The following different types of plastic films are accepted at carrier bag collection points:

Yes please

All plastic bags, except biodegradable or compostable bags

Bread bags

Breakfast cereal liners

Shrink wrap & ring joiners from multipacks of water, cans etc

Frozen food bags, e.g. bags for frozen vegetables, chips, etc

Dry cleaning bags/bags covering new clothing

Magazine and newspaper wrappers

Bags for loose fruit and vegetables

Bubble wrap

Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) - resin ID code 4

No thanks

Any non-Polyethylene film (e.g. PP, PVC, others)

Cling film

Food and drink pouches

Wrappers from bakeries, e.g. bags with lots of small holes in them

Film lids from trays and pots, e.g. yoghurt pots

Any dirty bags or film, for example containing food

Crisp packets

Compostable bags