Clothes in UK landfill
The effect of clothes in landfill
One of our core values at Apollos Clothing is to address the problem that is the ever-increasing amount of landfill produced by discarded clothing and textiles in the UK. But what is the actual extent of this issue and how can we make a tangible difference?
Clothing in landfill
There is an overwhelming amount of statistics out there about the amount of clothing and textiles that end up in landfills. According to Clothes Aid 350,000 tonnes of used, but still wearable clothing goes to UK landfill every year, which is estimated to be worth a whopping £140 million in value! The DEFRA (Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in 2016 claimed that about 895,000 tonnes of textiles and shoes were sent to landfill whilst the ‘Wear, care, share’ project, heralded by Greatest Hits Radio, attributes 1.2million tonnes of landfill per year to clothing and textiles. Either way, whichever research we go with, I think we can agree it is a lot.
So what’s the big deal? Don’t most fabrics decompose down into the soil and turn into worm food, so we’re all good right? Well, not exactly. Under decent composting conditions natural fibres such as cotton and wool could break down between 6-12 months, but landfill sites are not ‘decent composting conditions’ at all. Far from it. Let’s get down to the grubby details.
A lesson on ‘Bin Juice’
Decomposing rubbish releases a harmful greenhouse gas called methane. Also, any pile of rubbish left long enough produces a devilish cocktail of rainwater,trash goo and toxic chemicals that seeps out into the ground. This is called leachate, (‘bin juice’). To stop the putrid bin juice from spreading into the environment landfill holes are lined with many layers that create a barrier, trash is compacted down to squeeze as much into the hole as possible, it is then covered up with plastic and soil. The best composting conditions involve plenty of oxygen and exposure to the elements that speed up the process. In landfill, the rubbish is hidden from weather conditions and lacking oxygen flow. This means things which usually decompose relatively quickly, simply, do not. Let alone all the synthetic fibres which are not generally biodegradable.
There was a BBC documentary a while back called ‘The Secret Life of Landfills’ which demonstrates this point nicely. At one point they dug up a 1980’s landfill and found almost fully intact cotton clothing that had barely begun the decomposing process, and also a newspaper from the 80’s which under good composting conditions would have only taken about 6 or 7 weeks to fully decompose was still there nearly 40 years later!
Waste not, want not (or something to that effect)
According to Upworthy, 95% of used textiles can be recycled or repurposed. Even Granny’s old curtains and your kid’s bedding with the felt-tip pen stains. If a piece of clothing no longer fits you, is stretched, shrunk, or even stained, it doesn’t mean it’s useless. At Apollos Clothing we aim to make use of as much fabric and textiles that get donated as we can. We hand select items to give to those in need, but what about the rest?
Repurposing at Apollos
We have a dedicated team of skilled upcyclers turn your old bedding, curtains and other larger items into beautiful bags that we pass on to our individuals and families in need. Any clothes, bags or shoes left over after that, we sell to Bag 2 School who passes them around the world, saving the clothes from UK landfill, and raising much needed funds for Apollos Clothing so we can benefit even more people! That is what we call a ‘Win Win’! Take THAT, bin juice!
Marie Kondo time?
So what now? Time to chuck all your clothes on the bed, Marie Kondo style and whittle down your wardrobe to two tops, a pair of jeans and one sock? Probably not, let’s slow down a bit. Open your drawers and find one or two items you can donate, that’s a good start. If you feel inspired and ready for a clear out, check out my handy guide on How to declutter your clothes without drowning or get some encouragement on ‘How to sort out your kid’s clothes without having a meltdown.’
Just remember, clothes, curtains, towels and bedding don’t need to go to the landfill. We can take them off your hands and help the community too. Look out for our blue Apollos clothing donation bins at these locations.