The UK’s used textiles waste costs around £88 million each year for collectors and sorters to handle, warns WRAP, as it revealed new figures this month. This growing strain is putting the future of the country’s textile reuse and recycling systems at risk.
If the current infrastructure were to collapse, local authorities could be forced to pick up the slack, potentially incurring an extra £64 million annually in disposal costs. This shift in responsibility could result in higher council tax rates and more textiles being sent to landfill or energy-from-waste facilities. WRAP estimates this could lead to an additional 2.5 million tonnes of CO₂e emissions each year.
Catherine David, who is set to become WRAP’s new Chief Executive, stressed the vital role that charity shops play in keeping clothing in use for longer. However, she also noted that many are struggling to store unsellable stock and raise enough revenue, which threatens to stall progress towards a more circular fashion economy.
In response, WRAP is leading the Automatic-sorting for Circularity in Textiles (ACT UK) initiative. The project will see a network of high-tech sorting facilities developed across the country, allowing used clothing to be sorted more efficiently and matched with the needs of recyclers.
David is urging the wider sector to get involved and help shape a more sustainable, circular future for the UK’s textiles.
