Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of clearing out: books, paints, wood, clothes and so on. My New Year’s Resolution was to recycle everything and I have done pretty well. Obviously, clothes that are in good condition can be donated to charity shops, re-use organisations or pre-loved retailers. If getting out of Barrow is a problem, some, such as the British Heart Foundation may offer a free collection service from your home or you can use The Salvation Army container in the Coop carpark. Many high street retailers such as Primark and M&S offer clothing donation banks in store – the ‘bring-back schemes’. Both the Loughborough stores do this.

My problems came with the old clothes, tatty fabrics and very old bedding. I did a bit of research and found some answers. You can pop them in a bag and take them to your favourite charity shop. Ask if they accept textiles for the Rag Bin. If they do, they will sell-on to rag businesses who make new items such as padding for chairs and car seats, cleaning cloths and industrial blankets. I called in on six charity shops in Loughborough of which four had a Rag Bin. If you live near a local animal shelter or veterinary hospital it’s worth asking if they accept old duvets, quilts, pillows and cushions to help keep animals warm and comfortable. The charity Sofa on the corner between Nottingham Road and Clarence Street in Loughborough takes good quality bedding but it really does need to be good. Some Dunelm stores operate a textiles take-back recycling scheme in selected stores. They accept all clean home textiles including bed linen, towels, curtains, cushion covers and bedding protection. They have partnered with The Salvation Army stores but unfortunately the Loughborough store does not offer this service. The closest Dunelm for this is at Thurmaston.

My only serious failure was with four mattresses that were too old to be accepted by Sofa. Those were taken to Loughborough’s Recycling Centre;

I didn’t dump them in a lay-by! In fact, it is a good idea to take all problem textiles to the tip because if they are left in your home-waste they will probably be burnt or go into land-fill whereas the tip may have arrangements with rag merchants.

Good recycling!

Judith Rodgers

PS I’ve started taking all my empty medication packets to Superdrug in Loughborough’s market place.