Residents of Maple Ridge now have an easy way to drop off their old or unloved clothing items, which make up about five per cent of the region’s municipal solid waste.
Based on the success of a pilot project earlier this year, Return-It has set up a permanent collection facility for old clothes at the Maple Ridge Bottle Depot at 20475 Lougheed Hwy., and at the Ridge Meadows Recycling depot at 10092 – 236th St., south of River Road in the Albion Industrial area.
Accepted items include a wide range of clothing, shoes and household textiles – such as blankets and towels, Return-It said in a news release Monday.
Return-It is an industry owned, not-for-profit, agency that manages the recycling of drink containers.
“The average adult throws out about 81 pounds (37 kilograms) of clothing and other textiles every year,” said Return-It CEO Allen Langdon.
Examples of accepted items include:
· Clothing – shirts, coats, pants, dresses, shorts and children’s clothes
· Textiles – sheets, towels, curtains, drapes, blankets, linens
· Footwear – shoes (all types), boots, slippers
Return-It is partnering with Bank & Vogue – one of the largest traders of used clothing in North America – to divert the old clothes from landfill. Items collected through the program are distributed to re-use organizations within Western Canada.
In Metro Vancouver alone, 40,000 tonnes of textiles end up in the landfill annually, making up five per cent of the region’s municipal solid waste, Langdon said.
Return-It also announced in October that all non-alcoholic beverage containers one litre or smaller will be worth 10 cents instead of the current five cents, beginning Nov. 1. This includes soft drinks, juice, water, energy and sport drinks.
pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
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