by Erin Huggard

With Halloween behind us, we look forward to the bustle of the winter holidays and the chill that comes with the changing of the seasons. In preparation for the coming months, we often find ourselves cleaning out closets and wondering what to do with unwanted items. For clothing and other textiles in good condition, it's easy - we might give them to friends, "hand them down," or donate to charity. But many of us anguish over items that are threadbare, stained or torn. Is there a useful second life for worn out athletic shoes, stained dish towels, and damaged or outdated clothing? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding YES.

On Saturday November 22, SalemRecycles and the City of Salem will partner with Morgan Memorial Goodwill, who will collect all textiles - the good, the bad, and the ugly - and sort and process them either for resale, reuse or donation to overseas communities who then rework them into new items. The stained T-shirt could become a wiping cloth for the automotive industry. The sneaker soles will be ground down to be made into car mats. The dish towels might be shredded and rewoven into new yarns. There are endless ways that textiles are transformed into new items that are of use to people around the world, all while reducing what enters the waste stream.

The 4th annual Clothing & Household Textile Recycling Drive will be held from 8am - 3pm at Riley Plaza, where the Goodwill truck will be stationed. It is a wonderful opportunity for you to collect and rid yourself of clothing, shoes, bedding, curtains, towels and more. All textiles will be accepted, the good, the bad and the ugly, as long as clean and dry.

For a complete list of acceptable items, please visit our website at Greensalem.com.

Clothing, shoes, belts, ties, purses, bedding (sheets, comforters, pillows), table linens, curtains, stuffed animals. Items can be reusable, or damaged/torn/stained, but must be CLEAN and DRY.