The UK generates as much as 1.7 million tonnes of textile waste every year. Against this figure, Torridge District Council in Devon has launched its "Think Before You Throw" initiative alongside September's "Second Hand September", reminding residents not to rush to bin their old clothes.

The council's advice runs along several parallel lines: keep wearing what can still be worn, mend and rewear what can be repaired, refashion or upcycle items into new outfits, and for anything truly unusable, donate it to local charity shops, clothing recycling banks, or hand it over to the council for collection. September 17–21 coincides with London Fashion Week, which the council believes is a good moment to inspire people with ideas for reworking old clothes.

In Torridge, textiles are already part of the weekly kerbside collection system. Residents who choose to dispose of old textiles using the council's green recycling bags must place these items above the paper in the bag, with a maximum of three items per bag. The scope of collection is clearly limited: clean, dry clothing, pairs of clean shoes, duvet covers and pillowcases, and sheets and curtains; duvets and pillows are not accepted.

Councillor Chris Leather, who oversees operational services, said the volume of discarded textiles is "shocking". He said what the council can do is include textiles in kerbside recycling to make it easier for residents to recycle more; September marks the transition from summer to autumn, when people sort through their wardrobes, and if they have unwanted clothes, he hopes they will remember to "think before you throw" and put them in the green recycling bag.

Source: Think Before You Throw – council urges clothing and textile recycling · Originally published 2026-09-14