
Photo credit: iStock.com/Daisy-Daisy
The Issue: Textile Waste
Textile waste in the U.S. has increased over 800% since 1960 – most of which ends up in landfills across the country.
- More than 15 million tons of textile waste is generated each year in the United States
- An average American throws out appx. 80 pounds of used clothing per year
- Only 15% of consumer-used clothing is recycled
- The annual environmental impact of a typical household’s clothing is equivalent to the carbon emissions from driving a car for 6,000 miles
What can we do to reduce the harmful impacts of textile waste? We can consume less, prioritize buying used, and recycle used textiles whenever possible.
Textile Recycling Pilot Program
Thanks to Marborg Industries and the County of Santa Barbara, we are now able to recycle our textiles locally!
Bring textiles to the following MarBorg locations for FREE drop-off:
- Goleta Recycling Center – 20 David Love Place (Take 101/South Fairview exit)
- South Coast Recycling & Transfer Center – 4430 Calle Real
You can drop off clothing, clean rags, fabric, matching shoes, purses, etc.
NOT ACCEPTED: Items that are contaminated, wet, or soiled.
☀If you are not in the Santa Barbara area, we encourage you to research your local waste management organizations to see if there are any similar programs available to you. If there are not, you can always reach out to nearby non-profits to see if they would be interested in starting up a pilot program!☀
A big thank you to Marborg Industries for implementing this new textile recycling program! We are extremely proud to have this kind of action in our community.