Don’t throw it out, city wants Worn or Torn in Byron donation drive

A new partnership at city hall is trying to keep textiles out of local landfills. CTV London’s Bryan Bicknell has more on the materials staff are looking for.

Could it be time to clean out the old sock drawer and get rid of all the ones with holes? Or will you be going through your closet any time soon to find your former favourites- which maybe haven’t been worn in years?

If you live in London’s Byron neighbourhood, you’re being asked to not throw them out, but instead, donate these items to the city.

“We want items that are ripped, worn right through. These are items that people normally place in the garbage because they don’t think there is any life to them. But this is something we want to collect,” said Jay Stanford, London’s director of Climate Change, Environment and Waste Management.

The city has teamed up with Fanshawe College and Goodwill Industries to launch the Worn or Torn Donation Drive. It’s a pilot in Byron to collect used textiles of all types to be recycled, repurposed, and resold.

“Every sock, T-shirt, towel, and sheet that gets donated is going to help our climate action. By giving textiles a second life, we’re transforming waste into opportunity,” said Bev Kobe, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries Ontario Great Lakes.

Fanshawe College Professor of Fashion Design Jennifer Wright said the clothes we acquire are discarded so quickly sometimes, they barely get worn. Eventually, most of it ends up in landfill.

“Fashion is designed and produced to be worn less than 10 times before it’s discarded, because of its poor quality, or because it’s quickly out of style,” explained Wright.

The main goal of the pilot is to keep textiles out of the garbage, extending the life of the city landfill, said Stanford. He said we are unlikely aware of the sheer amount we waste, which can have enormous impact environmental sustainability.

“When we look city-wide, our best estimates suggest that between 3,000 and 6,000 tonnes of unwanted textiles end up in the garbage bag, or down the chute in a multi-residential building. That represents about 15 to 30 kilograms per family,” Stanford said.

Worn or Torn runs from July 2 to July 20. Byron households are being asked to donate their used clothing and end-of-life textiles to the Goodwill Donation Centre at the Oxford Street EnviroDepot, 1570 Oxford St. W., London.