The funny thing is that while we generally take recycling very seriously in the United Kingdom, comparatively few residents realise just how wasteful we really are. We might be relatively meticulous when it comes to separating everyday household waste, but when it comes to the amount of clothing that disappears into the ether every year…well, let’s just say the figures are shocking to say the least.
This summer, Britain will once again send more than 235 million items of clothing to various landfill sites across the country. Of which the overwhelming majority of items could either have been reused, recycled or even just worn as they are. Needless to say, this hasn’t escaped the attention of environmental campaigners, who are now turning their attention to some of the biggest retailers and insisting they put more effort into recycling.
In response to the criticisms, a handful of leading brands – including Zara and H&M – have announced new in-store recycling schemes, which are designed for members of the public to use to donate unwanted items. The number of additional companies have also indicated their intention to get on board with similar initiatives, at some point in the near future.
The scheme at H&M has been running to one extent or another since 2013, having collected approximately 40,000 tonnes of clothing along the way. Anything that can be reused is put back into use as quickly as possible, while the rest is recycled into a variety of products, such as insulation fibres and cleaning cloths. Nevertheless, this represents no more than a drop in the ocean, when considering the real scale of the problem.
H&M has stated that by the end of the current decade, it wants to be collecting and recycling a minimum of 25,000 tonnes of clothing every year. But despite having become a relatively high profile and well publicized issue, research suggests that the vast majority of households are still not getting the message. Or if they are, they’re not bothering to do anything about it. Sainsbury’s recently conducted a survey, which revealed that three out of four UK households regularly throw clothing and apparel in the bin with the rest of their everyday waste.
Which, as already mentioned, is interesting when considering the fact that approximately the same proportion of households are also relatively focused and committed, when it comes to standard household waste recycling.
As far as many campaigners are concerned, one of the biggest problems lies not in the way clothes are recycled (or not), but rather in the way in which the British public in general has fallen into such a wasteful and greedy culture. Or to put it another way, a culture in which we have been somewhat pre-programmed to refresh and even replace our wardrobes on an unnecessarily regular basis. And in turn, the more clothes we buy and the more often we buy them, the more we have to get rid of as a result.
Nevertheless, with such spectacular volumes of clothing items going to waste every year, it’s abundantly evident that something really does need to change.
