Textile Recycling Trial – National Recycling Week

Have you got old clothes, shoes, handbags, and linen that can’t be donated cluttering up your home?

From Monday, 27 October, to Saturday, 15 November, drop off your clean, dry, unwanted clothing, shoes, linen, and small accessories at any Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) for recycling.

Charities cannot always accept worn or damaged textiles, so Council is running a textile recycling trial this November to recycle items that would otherwise go to landfill.

How It Works

Collect any clothing, shoes, handbags, or linen that you no longer want/need.
Make sure your items are clean and dry.
Bag or box your items up.
Drop them off at your local Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) between Monday 27 October and Saturday 15 November.

Items Accepted for Recycling

Clothing
Shoes
Linen, towels, blankets
Small bags, hats, belts, accessories
Mats smaller than 50cm

Items Not Accepted

Soft toys,
Doonas, pillows, cushions
Electric blankets,
Large bags (like suitcases),
Large mats

Why It Matters

Textile waste is a big problem. Australians throw away about 6,000 kilograms of clothing and textiles every 10 minutes. Fast fashion and poor-quality textiles make this worse.

This trial will help reduce landfill waste and support Council’s zero waste targets.

Australian textile recycling company RRR Australia (Reuse – Repurpose – Recycle) will sort all donated textiles:

Reuse: Items in good condition are donated locally and overseas for rewearing.
Repurpose: Textiles that can’t be worn are cut and made into cleaning rags.
Recycle: Damaged textiles are turned into products like blankets and rugs.

The trial is funded by the Canberra Region Joint Organisation (CRJO) and aims to reduce textile waste by recycling unwanted clothing, shoes, linen, and other textiles that would normally go to landfill.

If the trial is successful, Council will explore more ways to make textile recycling a permanent program.