eiron-samurai t1_iud5bvv wrote on October 30, 2022 at 12:57 PM

Reply to comment by Unfair_Isopod534 in Massachusetts bans clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains and other textiles from trash disposal by cowghost

Honestly this makes a lot more sense when you look at targeting businesses. The amount of textiles that they bring in and then throw away due to seasonal changes alone is tremendous. Add in growing costs to ship these textiles and I can see how eventually it's just cheaper to write off the loss.

Making sure those can be recycled rather than destroyed seems like a solid cause to me. Are they going to come after an individual for throwing out a tee shirt, no. Kohl's however better make sure they are reselling or donating everything.

Snowstig t1_iud9yp7 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 1:38 PM

Look up the Atacama Desert....it's depressing.

SharpCookie232 t1_iudfo2t wrote on October 30, 2022 at 2:23 PM

>the Atacama Desert

What's happening there is awful. Chile is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. The article says that 8% of greenhouse gases are created in the production of fast-fashion clothing.

People - before you buy new, have a look at what's for sale at your local thrift store or on ThreadUp/Poshmark/Mercari/EBAY. This is especially true if you're buying something that you're not going to keep very long (kids clothes, an "in-between" size while you're dieting, something for a costume, etc.).

teriyakichicken t1_iuehnb6 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 6:42 PM

Yes - buy used when you can! Facebook groups are also great for finding used goods. There are TONS of “everything free” and “buy nothing” groups for almost every area of MA.

I have a 7 month old and these groups have been a godsend for finding baby items in good condition. It feels great to not have to buy a bunch of crap that will be used for a month or two before it’s outgrown.

Kaio_ t1_iuf9qla wrote on October 30, 2022 at 9:49 PM

Just gonna go out on a limb and say it's The Atacama Desert. Nobody lives there, it's inhospitable and huge. That trash pile is no bigger than a modest municipal dump. Plus, somebody will set it afire one day.

Agreeable_Sun3754 t1_iuf3j64 wrote on October 30, 2022 at 9:07 PM

Reselling or donating aren't really viable solutions. It just ends up with the trashcan in another country.

Ideally we need a recycling program that can turn textiles into something like insulation.

TinyEmergencyCake t1_iuf7oko wrote on October 30, 2022 at 9:35 PM

These exist, and the textiles that aren't reusable go there. That's why the rule is to take ALL textiles to the clothing bins. Those charity bins have a sorting process already. Usable goes to be resold in thrift, unusable gets sent to "tear down" to be repurposed.

Agreeable_Sun3754 t1_iufeeel wrote on October 30, 2022 at 10:22 PM

Exists and being able to handle the total volume of textiles are two very different things.

Prioritize self recycling. Especially if textile companies are now required to donate all their waste. The used stuff you donate is going to just add to the massive stream of textiles.

If you know how to make use of a large volume of textiles maybe it would be worth doing a project yourself.

The clothing charity system is completely over burned by the volume of textiles.

Honestly I would love to see some sort of decomodifying effort. Like all churches should have a free store. It's infuriating that they don't.