Tendring households will soon be able to put out unwanted textiles and shoes for collection on the same day as their usual waste and recycling collections.
The new free service is the result of a collaboration between Tendring District Council (TDC) and Essex Textiles. The scheme – which is already up and running in the Colchester area – will be self-funding and there’ll be no cost to the council.
Residents will be able to leave items for collection on the first red week after receiving blue textile bags and an information leaflet, which should be delivered shortly. There’s no limit to the number of bags that can be put out and they should be ready for collection by 7am. Large numbers of bags can be collected by special arrangement with Essex Textiles.
Once collected from the kerb, Essex Textiles – a registered and licensed textiles broker– will sort the materials. Depending on the quality, the items will either be resold, reused or recycled into other products.
Mike Bush, TDC’s portfolio holder for the environment, welcomed the new service. “Clothing items can be bulky and harder to recycle for households, so being able to have them collected from the kerbside is a real advantage for residents and the environment,” he said.
Acceptable items are:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Handbags
- Belts
- Bedding
- Towels
Items not accepted are:
- Carpets
- Duvets
- Pillows
- Quilts
- Rugs
- Soiled, wet and unusable items
- Rags
For more details on Essex Textiles visit www.tendringdc.gov.uk/content/kerbside-textile-collection-service or essextextiles.co.uk.
