In a Queensland first, Noosa residents will have the opportunity to recycle their sheets, towels, pillowcases and other textiles next month.
The “Give a Sheet” for the planet initiative is a joint partnership between clean technology company BlockTexx, St Vincent de Paul and Noosa Council.
On 5 June as part of World Environment Day, a Linen and Clothing Recycling Day will be held at the Bicentennial Park carpark in Sunshine Beach, where linen and old clothes can be dropped off.
Donated linen will then be converted into valuable, high-grade materials by BlockTexx that can be used by Australian manufacturers to create new products such as hydro-mulch, shopping baskets and geosynthetic fabrics.
All clothing will be utilised by St Vincent de Paul.
Mayor Clare Stewart encouraged residents to make the most of this one-off opportunity that demonstrates Noosa’s commitment to transitioning to a green economy as part of Council’s Smart Biosphere strategy.
“We need to reduce textile waste going to landfill and this initiative is not only a win for the environment, but is also creating new resources for other sectors and is ultimately an exciting new industry,” she said.
Every year in Australia, one million tonnes of textile waste end up in landfill.
Australians acquire an average of 27 kilograms of new clothing per person every year and discard of about 23 kilograms to landfill annually.
Councillor Joe Jurisevic said it was exciting to see Noosa become part of a true circular economy initiative.
“We need to get better at recognising that products we would have only thought of as waste in the past can actually be reused, and this is a tangible, productive way to reduce what goes to landfill and help minimise our impact on the environment,” he said.
Cr Jurisevic said Australia is the second highest consumer of textiles per person in the world, after the United States.
BlockTexx co-founder Adrian Jones said he was proud to work with the council to provide a new and innovative solution for tackling Noosa’s textile waste.
“In setting up this collection opportunity, Noosa is leading the way in providing new and smart onshore recycling solutions for textile waste, and we really hope to see more of these events happening around the nation,” he said.
BlockTexx is set to open Australia’s first commercial-scale textile recovery facility in Logan in coming weeks.
