Together with the four municipalities, we want to prevent textiles from ending up in residual waste. More textiles will be collected in 2024 than in 2023, but still almost half of the discarded textiles will be thrown away instead of reused or recycled. This can be done differently.
Textile collection by municipality
Residents of the four municipalities collected a large amount of textiles together. This not only contributes to recycling, but also saves raw materials and energy. The figures per municipality:
Gorinchem: 132,000 kilos in 2024 (123,000 kilos in 2023)
Hardinxveld-Giessendam: 55,000 kilos in 2024 (51,000 kilos in 2023)
Molenlanden: 188,000 kilos in 2024 (163,000 kilos in 2023)
Vijfheerenlanden: 251,000 kilos in 2024 (235,000 kilos in 2023)
Many collected clothes are still in good condition and are given a second life through second-hand shops. Textiles that are no longer wearable are processed into new products such as cleaning rags and insulation material.
Why don't textiles belong in residual waste?
Although textile collection is increasing, almost half of discarded textiles still end up in the incinerator. Thus, valuable raw materials are lost forever.
The new legislation, Extended Producer Responsibility, states that the Netherlands must collect 50% more textiles over the next five years. This will only be possible if everyone participates. Fortunately, the Netherlands is already a leader in textile collection, but there is still room for improvement.
What is allowed in the textile container?
All textiles are welcome in the collection containers specifically for textiles, including worn or broken clothes and household textiles. Towels, tablecloths, bedding and even soft toys can simply be handed in. Many people hesitate about this, but separating textiles helps to reuse and recycle them better.
Big environmental gain
Thanks to textile collection in the four municipalities, major environmental gains have been made. Together, residents saved more than 6.7 million kilos of CO2 and over 423 million litres of water. This is equivalent to thousands of tankers full of water and a traffic jam of dozens of kilometres. This shows how much water is needed to produce new textiles and why reuse and recycling are so important.
Fighting waste together
Textiles have a big impact on the environment. If we dispose of it incorrectly, valuable raw materials are lost. This is easy to prevent: all textiles can go in the special collection container, whether broken or not. By returning textiles separately, we reduce waste and save raw materials. You can throw it in a textile container in your neighbourhood or hand it in at one of our environmental centres using the environmental pass. Do you still have good textiles? Give it a second life. Donate it, sell it or bring it to the Kringloopplein, the thrift shop or the gift shop.
Together, we make a difference!