Textile recycling collection lagging in US

Utah-based PromoLeaf LLC says its analysis of data on recycling facilities and programs shows fewer than 6 percent of large cities in the United States accept discarded textiles in curbside recycling bins.

The firm's analysis says only eight out of 151 cities offer regular curbside collections of clothes and textiles. PromoLeaf gathered information from the three largest cities in each state plus the District of Columbia.

“The goal was to identify the cities where clothes and apparel are recycled in a way that’s easiest and most available to Americans,” PromoLeaf says, adding that statewide clothing recycling programs exist in 16 states and the District of Columbia.

Although curbside collection may not be common, the analysis found 115 out of the 151 cities (76 percent) operate a recycling program or initiative aimed at reducing clothing and apparel waste, often by collecting at donation or recycling dropoff sites.

Cities performing above average in textile reuse or recycling, according to PromoLeaf, include: Yonkers, New York; Rutland, Vermont; Dover, Delaware; and Stamford, Connecticut.

Stamford is mentioned additionally for being host to several firms “in the business of recycling, among other things, clothing and textiles.” The analysis finds the mid-sized city has 16 such companies per 100,00 people—No. 1 in the PromoLeaf analysis.

The two largest U.S. cities by population, New York and Los Angeles, have the highest number of clothing recycling-related monthly searches, according to PromoLeaf. The firm also says Atlanta and Boston score highly on recycling searches and have a decent number of recycling centers that accept clothing and textiles.