Newcastle residents urged to join war on textile waste during National Recycling Week

Image courtesy: Blocktexx

City of Newcastle is tapping into world-first technology to help residents stop some of the one million tonnes of textile waste Australia contributes to landfill each year.

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Novocastrians are being invited to drop off their old towels, sheets and other household linen items at Newcastle TAFE carpark on 16 November as part of Newcastle’s first ‘Give a Sheet for the Planet’ textile recycling event.

The initiative is being run in conjunction with Australian clean technology company BlockTexx, whose cutting-edge recycling process breaks down textiles into their raw materials, which can be reused by a range of industries.

Managing Director of Waste Services, David Witherdin, said the event, which coincides with National Recycling Week (11-17 November), would add to City of Newcastle’s suite of waste-recovery initiatives.

"City of Newcastle is committed to delivering Our Sustainable Waste Strategy, which sets out a 20-year vision focussed on reducing unnecessary waste going to landfill and increasing recycling rates," Mr Witherdin said.

"Currently, City of Newcastle diverts around 47% of household waste from landfill through recycling efforts.

"This number will continue to increase through our delivery of education, infrastructure, programs and events such as this one, which give residents access to more practical and sustainable solutions for recycling items that would otherwise end up being thrown out."

Co-founder of BlockTexx Adrian Jones said Give a Sheet for the Planet events were an effective way for local communities to do their bit to combat textile waste.

"We estimate that in an average household, linen wardrobes contain around 15 kilograms of old, worn linen. Our aim is to clean out your robe and give your unwanted linen a new life by creating new sustainable products for use by the textile industry and other industries such as building, agriculture and manufacturing," Mr Jones said.

"This delivers real benefits for the environment, with every truck load of linen collected diverting 3 tonnes of textile waste from landfill and removing carbon emissions from the environment equivalent to taking 20 cars off the road for a year."

Residents can recycle household linens including bed sheets, bath towels, and tablecloths that are made from 100% cotton or polyester or blends of these fibres. All linens must be clean and free from unapproved materials such as wool, silk, or synthetic blends. 

A full list of accepted items and requirements is available on the City of Newcastle's website. For more information, visit https://newcastle.nsw.gov.au/giveasheet