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full screen Else Österberg, manager of the Red Cross store on Norra Parkgatan in Malmö, sorts textiles and clothing that have been handed in for recycling. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT
Discarded textiles pour into the Red Cross store in Malmö. Basically, it’s positive, the store manager thinks. But at the same time, there is concern that a larger proportion of unsellable textile waste will sneak in, since it became illegal to throw away textiles in the residual waste at New Year’s.
– Since mid-December it has been completely crazy on some days. Normally before, we could handle what we received during the day. Now we don’t have time to deal with it, but it is growing, our little mountain of clothes, says store manager Else Österberg.
The Laxåbygden Red Cross circle writes on its Facebook page that sacks are increasingly placed outside the shop when it is closed. The contents of them are often so bad that they have to be thrown away – and the cost of transporting the waste lands on the non-profit organization.
– It has increased like an avalanche. If this increases further, we may not be able to receive clothes anymore, says operations manager Tolle Furegård to P4 Örebro.
He hopes that the municipality will put out containers so that people can more easily get rid of what is textile waste. But four out of ten municipalities will only accept textile waste at their larger recycling stations, according to a compilation made by SVT.
Lower quality
In total, Swedish Red Cross circles operate 260 stores. So far, it is too early to summarize how the change in the law at the turn of the year has affected. But unit manager Magnus Lundén, who is responsible for the second-hand business, receives signals that in some places larger volumes are coming in – but with lower quality than normal.
– We as an organization are not equipped to be waste handlers and are not even allowed to be, it is a municipal responsibility, he says.
The biggest concern is that the change in the law in some municipalities will lead to a smaller amount of sellable second-hand textiles being donated.
– Given that new collection points for textiles will appear, it is clear that we see a risk of putting everything in the same container, so that what can be reused becomes waste.
Can be misunderstood
There is a risk that the change in the law may have been misunderstood, fears Karolina Skog at Sweden’s urban missions.
– Now that municipalities go out and say: “We will take all your textiles”, we are simply worried that people will misunderstand that and think they should put their whole and clean there too.
The concern is shared by several organizations, according to the industry organization Give Sweden, which represents approximately 200 non-profit organizations.
– What we want to emphasize is that it is still permitted to donate what is completely and purely to non-profit organizations, says Agnes Wevel at Giva Sweden.
FACT A lot can be reused
In Sweden, we buy approximately 13–14 kilos of newly produced clothing and home textiles per person per year. At the same time, approximately 7–9 kilos of textile waste per person are thrown away each year in the residual waste or on the tip and are incinerated. If the textile waste is sorted separately, 65–75 percent can be reused.
The new law that came into force at the turn of the year means that both private individuals and businesses must sort out textile waste and store it separately from other waste. The municipalities are responsible for receiving it, but how they will organize their collection is up to them.
Four out of ten municipalities will only accept textile waste at their recycling centers, according to a survey made by SVT. In around 100 municipalities, non-profit organizations will help receive textile waste.
Sources: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and SVT
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