Textiles & Mattresses
Textiles: clothing, shoes, and related items
As of November 2022, Massachusetts law prohibits textiles from being included in the trash. This equates to about 100 pounds per person. Benefits are that 95% can be reused or recycled, reducing the amount of energy and harmful chemicals used in producing new textiles and removing this waste stream from landfills and incinerators as well as the transportation to them.
Biggest impact
Refuse to buy trendy items that will be discarded before they are worn out
Reduce the number of items of clothing and accessories you have
Buy items made with sustainable materials and from local producers to minimize the environmental impact
See Reuse & Recycle for places to donate textiles directly to an organization you support
Use Helpsy for free home pickup of textiles
Wait until you have 3 or more bags of textiles - here's what Helpsy accepts and does not accept:
Clothing (from outwear to socks)
Footwear (shoes, boots, etc)
Accessories (from purses to belts)
Household textiles (from throw rugs to curtains) - for down pillows, compost the down and put the case in textile recycling
Stuffed animals
Excluded are items contaminated with mold, oil, or harmful substances - those need to go in the trash
Schedule a pickup - they come to town once a week - upcoming dates are listed and you choose one
Put your textiles in labeled, plastic bags to keep the items dry. Before 7am of the scheduled date, put the bags where you would you put your garbage. Helpsy will pick up the bags by 5pm.
Helpsy sells or donates any usable items (75%), then recycles the material from most of the rest (20%) which is made into new textiles - more info
Cool fact - Helpsy is a B Corporation!
Hopkinton will receive payment for textiles collected