A pair of trousers with a hole in the knee? Right in the trash! A dress with a red wine stain? On the heap with it! We might like to think that we are good at recycling clothes here on the mountain, but that is probably not the case. On average, each of us throws between 10 and 15 kg of clothes and shoes a year, straight into the residual waste. Altogether, this corresponds to over 100,000 tonnes, just with textiles, with regards from Ola and Kari. There has been no other place to get rid of damaged textiles than in the residual waste. Until now. – We are now testing the textile collection of the future. As little as possible should be in the residual waste, says Mari Brenden, communications advisor at the Renovation Company for the Drammen Region (RfD). – It will be exciting to see the results of the solutions we test, says Mari Brenden at RfD. Photo: Anders Haualand / news The whole country must have a solution in a few years. At all four of RfD’s recycling stations, the scheme for delivering destroyed textiles is now being tested. Approximately 164,000 inhabitants live in the area; they are thus participating in a national pilot project. By 2025, all municipalities in the country must have a solution for sorting textile waste in place. Pilot project on recycling 1) By 2025, all municipalities are required to have a collection scheme for textiles, clothing and shoes. 2) RfD (Renovasjonsselskapet for Drammensregionen) is involved in a national trial project that runs in six areas of the country to find the best solution for collecting textiles in Norway. 3) The project will record the quantity, analyze the quality of the collected textiles in all areas, and map how the residents experience the scheme. 4) The result will form the basis for recommendations on future solutions for the whole country. (Source: RfD) The trial project will therefore test different ways of sorting damaged textiles. – Some are testing solutions for picking up textiles at home, while we are testing the delivery of textiles at recycling stations, explains Brenden. At the recycling stations, separate containers labeled textiles are now set out. Tattered, stained and holey clothes that would normally go straight in the bin will instead be given new life. Cecil H. Nathaniel shows off one of the 1,000-litre bins into which destroyed textiles are to be thrown. Photo: Anders Haualand / news Recycling and recycling are the future It is the case that most of the clothes we throw away, moth-eaten winter coats and trousers so worn in the back that could be towed in for blotting when using them – can be reused. Or at least be used in new products. After receiving torn sweaters and expired shoes at the recycling station in the Drammen area, the Church’s Bymission takes over and starts the sorting. – Of what we have received so far, 41 per cent goes back to reuse. 53 percent is material recycling and only 6 percent is returned for incineration, notes Hege Stenmarck, general manager of Kirkens Bymisjon. Mari Brenden (left) and Hege Stenmarck from RfD and Kirkens Bymisjon, respectively, go through received and worn garments. Photo: Anders Haualand / news The trial project started on 1 February and will end on 1 July. The solutions must then be compared to find out what works best. – And then we will see if our residents are satisfied, says Stenmarck. Each of us throws away between 10 and 15 kilos of clothes a year. Photo: Anders Haualand / news Altogether there are huge amounts of textile waste. Photo: Anders Haualand / news What will be used again? Photo: Anders Haualand / news The new scheme ensures that textiles are sorted for reuse. Photo: Anders Haualand / news After the textiles have been thrown at the recycling stations, the Kirkens Bymisjon takes over and ensures the sorting. Photo: Anders Haualand / news We throw away over 100,000 tonnes of clothes in Norway every year. Photo: Anders Haualand / news At the Renovasjonsselskapet for the Drammen region, only 6 percent of the textile waste is now incinerated after the new scheme started. Photo: Anders Haualand / news But when 6 percent goes to incineration. What about the remaining percentages? Simple question: – What happens to the old clothes? – We sort for re-use, that is for the resale of textiles. And we sort for material recycling, which means that plaster filler is typically made and that it goes into the car industry, Stenmarck replies.
ttn-69