South County residents now have an option closer to home for recycling clothes and other fabrics.
After seeing robust participation at the I-66 Transfer Station on West Ox Road, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) has expanded a pilot program for textile recycling to the I-95 Landfill Complex (9850 Furnace Road) in Lorton.
“Demand quickly exceeded early expectations,” DPWES said in a Dec. 1 press release announcing the pilot’s expansion.
Launched in January, the pilot is a partnership with the New Jersey-based recycling company Helpsy, which provided blue bins to collect clothing, shoes, linens and other household textiles. The dropped-off items are sorted for resale to thrift stores, donation or repurposing as other materials, such as insulation or industrial rags.
Initially, the pilot included just two bins at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Road) that were emptied once a week, but over time, the program’s popularity led the county to add more bins and increase pickups to two times a week, DPWES said.
Through October, the program had collected 49.3 tons, or nearly 98,700 pounds, of textiles dropped off by community members, according to DPWES. In addition to clothes, footwear and linens, accepted items include hats, bags, gloves and other accessories, luggage, and stuffed animals.
Stained and worn items can be accepted, but everything must be clean, dry, odorless and disposed of in a securely sealed plastic bag.
Four collection bins are now available at the I-95 Landfill Complex. Items are currently picked up once a week, but the schedule will be adjusted as needed, the county says.
“Fairfax County plans to expand textile collection opportunities to additional facilities as the pilot continues to grow,” DPWES said. “The program supports the county’s long-term zero waste goal, which aims to divert 90 percent of the overall waste stream away from disposal.”
Back in May, county staff reported that they had made some progress toward that waste reduction target, cutting solid waste levels by 38% from 2018. However, they noted that the figure could be affected by many county employees working from home during the early years of the pandemic, and only 29% of solid waste was being diverted to recycling.
In addition to the textile recycling pilot, Fairfax County’s waste reduction efforts have included encouraging composting with the addition of drop-off sites at farmers markets and the I-66 Transfer Station.
County staff have also contended that consolidating trash services with unified sanitation districts would help reduce waste, among other potential strategies, but the Board of Supervisors put consideration of that proposal on hold in August, directing staff to further review other options and conduct more public outreach.
Photo via DPWES
