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The Covid-19 has led consumers to think about how uniform recycling can be beneficial and keep the earth as safe as possible. The globe generates 1.3 billion tons of solid trash annually. This is anticipated to reach 2.2 billion by 2025. The OECD countries are responsible for 1.75 million tonnes per day of waste.[1]
The covid-19 epidemic has prompted customers to demand more sustainable and responsible products. They are rejecting rapid fashion and requesting more circular products. Recycling textiles is an innovation that hugely impacts the energy and fashion industries. Each year, enormous quantities of old but wearable clothing, such as uniform recycling, are dumped in landfills.
12% of all clothing sold annually worldwide is recycled. The remainder is down-cycled into items such as insulation. Textile recycling involves the material recovery and reusing of old clothing and upholstery fabric. The material is subsequently recycled into valuable items. The global textile recycling market expanded at a 19% CAGR between 2014 and 2019.[2]
Suggested Read: Why Hospitality Uniforms are Essential ?
How To Recycle Old Work Uniforms?
The first thing in recycling work uniforms is to remove any company identification, including the logo. Next, you must consider the various fabrics used in your uniform before old uniform recycling. This may pose a hurdle when recycling specific garments since their material composition will be significantly more robust and distinct from typical clothing.
In place of the more common textile recycling, in which fabric threads are separated and rewoven into new materials, it may be necessary to use chemicals to break down garments, such as fire-resistant clothing. Sort your workwear into categories requiring various types of recycling treatment.
What To Do With Old Uniforms?
Old uniform recycling can be beneficial in a variety of ways. For instance, it can be chopped or shredded and used as rags for cleaning or insulation to reduce noise. Some sustainable uniform manufacturers, offer comprehensive recycling programs for workwear. They repurpose old uniforms into various products, including new garments, shredded materials for other uses, and even energy-from-waste solutions.
If your organization experiences a high turnover of uniforms, the optimal approach would be to establish a recycling program with regular on-site collections in collaboration with a recycling provider. The individuals responsible for providing new uniforms should be responsible for selecting an old recycling “bank” where employees can deposit clothing and request work uniform recycling. This will actively discourage them from discarding the item in the general trash.
Alternatively, you can donate your clothes to a textile bank with old uniform recycling programs for fabric recycling.
Where To Recycle Uniforms?
Many Australian organizations provide innovative methods to divert your clothing, textiles, and footwear from landfills for longer, with some even offering recycling program pilots. If you have damaged or old clothes disposal that is unsuitable for donation, you may wish to drop them off at one of the organizations listed below.
Boomerang Bags
The communities of Boomerang Bags convert your worn out workwear into reusable bags. The bags are subsequently distributed locally to schools, companies, and events.
Compost
You can compost your clothing if it is made of only biodegradable materials, such as linen, silk, cotton, cashmere, bamboo, and wool. Shred or cut your materials into smaller pieces, remove anything that will not biodegrade (tags, buttons, and zippers), and use a hot compost with worms to accelerate the decomposition.
Councils
Councils recognise the necessity of integrating old uniform recycling into their waste management systems.
What Can You Do With Old Uniforms?
Numerous large corporations invest extensively in hydrothermal and mechanical textile waste recycling techniques, enabling efficient cellulose recycling from textiles.
It will then be used for spinning, weaving, knitting, and dying, thus encompassing the entire value chain of the fashion industry.
Textile waste recycling involves collecting and processing old clothing, fabric, and unwanted textiles to recover the raw ingredients from which they are manufactured. The final items can be reusable garments, fibers, rags, and leftovers. You can earn some money by reselling these items to the fashion business as well.
What Do You Do With Old Nurses’ Uniforms?
Every set of scrubs, including your favourites, must eventually be retired. Whether they’re worn out – scrubs can only withstand so many wash cycles — or they’re no longer serving you, give your old scrubs a new use.
Also Read: Scrubs For Nurses
Try one of these methods for old uniform recycling:
Old Uniform Recycling Organization
Suppose your old nurse uniform has reached the end of its life, and you’re interested in recycling it properly. In that case, numerous organizations accept uniforms to be shredded and recycled.
Donate To An Institution
You can give your scrubs to an organization that accepts them, such as Global Links, which employs hospital overstock to supply healthcare in impoverished countries worldwide.
Create A Tote
Carrying your belongings in your scrubs is the only thing handier than wearing them! Examine your scrub and then design your own tote bag.
Keep For Rags
Use scrubs to dust, wipe off your automobile after a car wash, and clean up laundry detergent spills. The rags can be laundered, making them a reusable resource and reducing paper towel waste. Double reward!
Conclusion
Overall, there are numerous advantages to old uniform recycling. Not only will it free up storage space, but it can also prevent detrimental environmental consequences, contribute to society’s resources, leave you with a clear conscience, and safeguard your company and brand.
Demonstrating that your organization is ethically and environmentally conscientious and accepting responsibility for its impact on the globe is beneficial for employee morale and appealing to customers or potential customers.
Image Source: Shutterstock
Also Read:
- 13 Surprising Benefits of Custom Work Uniforms to the Businesses
- How To Customize Medical Scrub?
- How To Find the Right Uniform For Hospitality Workwear?
References:
[1] Environment: Waste Production Must Peak This Century – Nature
[2] Textile Recycling Market – Research and Markets
