Speaking at the Sustainable Clothing Roadmap event in London yesterday (February 23), Nick Morley, director of innovation at consultancy Oakdene Hollins, explained that while a competitive marketplace it had also fostered an increase in thefts.

Thefts in the textile recycling sector have been a long-term issue, with concerns routinely raised about bogus door-to-door collectors removing material.

Mr Morley said: “With any high-value item that is left around, not so much in the bins and the banks, but in the door-to-door collections, one of the up-and-coming problems has been theft. Due to the high value and the fact this method isn't very well coordinated. We want to keep textile recycling competitive but we want it orderly as well.”

Responding to Mr Morley, attendees to the Defra-sponsored event shared anecdotal evidence of textile thefts and questioned whether any intervention of policy measure could be introduced.

One textile recycler said: “I can provide information firsthand on the problem that thefts cause. It is such an issue, maybe there needs to be some definitive policy action.”


Mr Morley reiterated his point that, while a competitive and open market was welcomed, there would be an incentive for people to operate outside the law.

Councils
During the discussion, Mr Morley also highlighted some of the main points of the Defra-commissioned report ‘Maximising reuse and recycling of UK clothing and textiles', which was published earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story).

The report was designed to give an up-to-date view of the quality and quantity of post-consumer waste in the UK and highlighted that currently 2.226 million tonnes of clothing and textile waste is produced annually, with almost 50% being landfilled.

In one of the key findings of the research project, it was claimed, even with the number of kerbside collections of textiles offered by councils doubling to 30% since 2002, the number was still a lot smaller proportion than those offering plastic, glass or metal collections.

Recommending ways of improving this, it stated: “Previous consumer behaviour studies show that convenience is a major factor in increasing recycling/reuse rates for clothing. A greater proportion of Local Authorities (LAs) should offer kerbside collection of textiles, to increase recycling availability to that of other recyclates.”

Mr Morley highlighted the need for councils to avoid using commingled collections. He said: “If we used commingled recycling, where it is mixed up with the likes of baked bean cans and glass, it is a real problem for textile recyclers. They need to be kept separate and kept dry.”

Councils
However, Isabel Edgar, recycling officer at Aylesbury Vale district council, questioned the push to further involve councils in textile collections due to the lack of an economic incentive for local authorities.

She said: “We are interested in doing a kerbside collection but there is no infrastructure, no funding and no impetus for councils to collect at the kerbside. Mainly because we would have to fork out millions of pounds in order to do so.”

In response, Mr Morley explained that there would be the potential for councils to issue recycling credits to third party organisations to carry out the service on their behalf but it would have to a working model that was “positive for councils as well”.

The call for greater council involvement has been an issue in the sector for while. The Textiles Recycling Association called for a similar measure in March 2009, when the trade body suggested the need to worker closer with local government in a bid to increase tonnages of material collected (see letsrecycle.com story).

Minister
The event marked the one-year anniversary of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (see letsrecycle.com story) and was designed to coincide with London Fashion Week.

The Plan is intended to bring together high street retailers, distributors, designers and textile manufacturers and recyclers to help curb the amount of waste in the sector. And, at this year's event, environment minister, Dan Norris, announced a further 200 signatories to the Plan.

Unveiling the new signatories and launching the event, Mr Norris said: “Over the last year, the actions the clothing sector & government committed to under the Action Plan are well underway or now completed and being showcased at this conference in [London's] Southbank Centre.”

The signatories to join the Plan in 2010 include: British Retail Consortium, Ethical Fashion Forum, Forum for the Future, Levis Strauss, MADE-BY, Cotton Made in Africa, RSPCA, Society of Dyers and Colourists.