There could be a place for those single socks to go, other than landfill.
Simcoe County wants those mateless socks, along with the stained t-shirt and ripped-beyond-use shorts.
The county is creating a new diversion program, which could be offered in June just before the yard-waste season begins, in an effort to keep those items out of the dump and instead turned into rags.
A June date for the program also allows people to finish up their spring cleaning, change their wardrobes to summer and cottagers to participate in the diversion program.
“This is meant to capture items that people would throw into the garage because they’re not reusable. This would supplement, not compete with, (community donation) programs,” said Debbie Korolnek, the county’s environment, planning and engineering general manager.
The county currently allows residents to drop off donations to the Canadian Diabetes Association’s Clothesline Program at its eight waste facilities. In 2015, the county collected 28 tonnes.
The county, however, estimates there’s about 500,000 tonnes of unwanted textiles ending up in landfill sites. Only about 15 per cent of unwanted clothing and other textiles are donated to programs like Clothesline, said Willma Bureau, the county’s contracts and collections supervisor said.
She estimated over two weeks, the county could collect, conservatively, 150 tonnes of textiles, which could then be sold to a textile recycler.
Bureau noted going rates range from 11 to 16 cents per pound.
