Recycling Fabric

How much fabric do you have in your house, which you do not use anymore? This could be anything – old sheets and pillow cases – clothing – rolls of unused sewing materials. When we combine all the homes together, the quantity rises drastically.  A textile recycling company claims that of all the waste which is accumulated in dumpsters and landfills, 5% is textile. Most of this is recyclable, but it is still not recycled in impressive quantities. In our country, over 14.3 million tons of textile waste is produced on a yearly basis. Of this amount, only 15% gets recycled, whereas this value should be much higher.

Is the process to recycle fabric too difficult? That depends on the type of cloth. Generally, it is really simple if you have a big enough piece. If the scraps are small, then recycling can be a problem.  So can you do this yourself? We will get into this, but before you recycle fabric, you must make sure it is clean and dry. If so, you can put it in any collection box you come across. These have been set up in every community and neighborhood. If you drop a wet piece of cloth in this box, it can encourage mold contamination, which can also spread onto other fabric pieces.

Generally, a standard waste management company might not take fabric for recycling but a specialized one will. In some cases, they may place limitations on size and will not take smaller pieces. This fabric is then turned into rags or is chopped down so that it can be used as an insulating material.

Fabric can also be used in art and crafts projects. In fact, for this purpose, even the smaller pieces do just as well. Some organizations also make quilts from them and donate them to the needy.

Is there any way that you can recycle fabric? Yes, fabric can also be used for decoration purposes or you could convert it into table runners. Try making handbags from them or covers for your smartphones.  Use your creativeness, and you will come up with good use for them. All this is easier if the fabric pieces are bigger. As for the smaller pieces, you can combine them together or give them to children for making clothes for their dolls.