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Waste Age magazine - January 2011 TRICKS OF THE TRADE Back in Fashion USAgain promotes textile reuse and recycling with clothing collection bins. ust as for -profit aluminum and glass recycling companies provide bins for local residents to responsibly dispose of their ca as and bottles, local clothing collection bins provide the general public with an easy and environmentally friendly option when it comes to tossing their unwanted clothing. USAgain (pronounced "use again "), headquartered In Chicago, collects unwanted textiles for resale in the United States and abroad, effectively averting millions of tECYCUNG pounds of clothing from landfills, generating new revenue st eams for U.S. businesses and nonprofits, and fueling local economies in emerging countries. www.usaaain.com In 2009, USAgain col. looted nearly 54 million pounds of textiles, which translates into roughly 3 million cubic yards ofiandfiul space saved nationwide. It's also comparable to offsetting emissions from as many as 32.000 cars in a full year or saving enough water to fill nearly 2 million swim• ming pools. Some might question the impor- tance of recycling clothing: How much ofa demand is there, really? The answer is a lot, The average Ainerican consumes 70 pounds of textiles a year. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, CLOTHES CAtt: Clothing collator, bins, Like those distrubted by USAgain, help keep discarded textiles out of landfills, diverting them into the hands 0 those who need then more than 05 percent of that is discarded with the trash, which means that for each of its inhabitants, the average city hauls 60 pounds of recyclable textiles to the landfill. A city with a population of 50,000 pays for the handling and disposal of 3,000 tons of textiles annually. it's bad for the environment and arguably worse for taxpayers' wallets. "People simply don't realize how much is out there, what a great need there is for a good clothing re-use ystem and how easy it can be to do," USAgain founder and president Janice Bostic always say about textile recycling. She's absolutely right. Here's how we do it. The company separates the material it collects and sells it to wholesalers, thrift store chains or graders. This activity helps generate revenue for businesses that host clothing collec- tion bins, creates green jobs In the United States and abroad, and helps to improve the well -being of people around the world. In a tough economy. the used clott- ing collection business is a growth sector. USAgain employs 170 employ- ees and operates over 8,500 collection bins in 14 states. It recently rolled out operations in San Francisco's Bay Area. ;ciolhe=as 39 I LEFT HY CLOTHES IN SAN FRANCISCO: USAgain's trademark green and white clothing collection bins most recently appeared in San Francisco's Bay Area. Recycling clothing is good for the environ- ment, good for the people who need afford- able clothing options, and ultimately, is as essential to municipali- ties as paper, plastic and aluminum recycling. Those materials are recycled by for-profit companies just like us, and were proud to be a small business making money by doing something good for the environment. ■ Mattlas Wallander is the CEO Of Chicago. based Usagaln.