Textiles are said to be the seventh most discarded material in Michigan and now a
business is working to divert millions of pounds of clothing that would
otherwise go to landfills.
USAgain
will have bins available in the southwest Michigan communities of
Benton Harbor, Coloma, Hartford, Watervliet, Paw Paw and Lawrence and
used clothes can be donated there.
Installing USAgain textile
collection bins at drop-off sites gives cities a way to gather reusable clothing that might otherwise go to waste, says Mattias
Wallander, CEO of USAgain.
"We expect to directly impact the
local environment and economy by helping the region responsibly dispose
of millions and millions of pounds of used clothes," says Wallander.
In 2010, the company diverted 56 million pounds of used clothes from landfills.
The
company works with local businesses to identify places it can locate
bins. Business owners agree to host a bin, and in return, collect part
of the proceeds generated from clothing collected on site. The host can
then choose to keep the revenue, or donate it through
USAgain to charities such as the Children's Miracle Network.
USAgain collects the clothing and resells it in the United States and abroad to wholesalers and recyclers.
Michigan
is the 15th state in which the Chicago-based company has placed its
collection bins. USAgain, pronounced use-again, was founded in 1999,
and now has over 8,500 collection bins in use nationally.
Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Mattias Wallander, USAgain
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