Reduce Textile Waste
This page contains tips for rethinking your approach to obtaining and disposing of clothing, linens and shoes.
Clothing production and consumption contributes to textile waste globally. By rethinking the way you consume and dispose of textile waste, you can help contribute to a greener Barrie and planet.
City Initiatives & Programs
The City supports clothing donations by arranging for outdoor collection bins at select facilities, and two curbside textile collection weeks yearly. In 2021, a total of 95.74 tonnes of textiles were collected curbside from 15073 participating households.
Ways to Reduce Textile Waste
Donate Your Textiles
The average person throws away 37 kilograms of textiles each year, and 95% of those clothes could be reused or recycled (source: WRW Canada). There are multiple options for donating your textiles in Barrie.
| Textile Collection Bins at City Facilities | |
Outdoor
textile collection bins are located at the following City facilities. View the list of accepted items. 100% of net proceeds supports
Cornerstone to Recovery in combatting homelessness and addiction, and supporting mental health in the community. For more information about the bins, please call Cornerstone to Recovery at 905-762-1551. For bin servicing, please call 905-508-0300. - City Operations Centre, 165 Ferndale Drive North
- Barrie Wastewater Maintenance Facility, 167 Bradford Street
- Sadlon Arena, 555 Bayview Drive
- Barrie Public Library (Painswick branch), 48 Dean Avenue
- Allandale Recreation Centre, 190 Bayview Drive
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| Curbside Textile Collection Weeks | |
The City of Barrie offers two curbside textile collections each year, in the late spring and in early fall. The collection dates for 2022 are June 13-17 and September 12-16. Visit Recycling Reward's website for details.
During the collection weeks, any type of plastic bag marked “textiles" is collected curbside on specified days. Notice is posted at
barrie.ca/CurbideCollection and promoted by the City. The curbside textile collection is for individual resident homes in Barrie (detached, semi-detached, townhouse). If you live in a multi-residential building (apartment or condominium) and would like textile collection, please contact your superintendent or property manager and ask them to contact
Recycling Rewards to arrange a texile pickup or a bin for your location. The textiles that are collected curbside directly supports Cornerstone to Recovery, a non-profit charitable agency that provides community-based recover programs for individuals and families experiencing and impacted by addiction. |
| Stores | |
Please consider donating used clothing through local re-use stores and/or pickup services, including: There are also many
consignment stores in Barrie that each accept specific types of clothing brands and styles. If you run a clothing store or service that accepts used clothing donations and helps divert clothing from the City's
landfill, please email
RethinkWaste@barrie.ca to request your store be added to this list.
Resources linked above are compiled by City staff to provide information to Barrie residents that may help divert textile waste from the City's landfill. Linked resources are not affiliated with the corporation of the City of Barrie. |
Change Your Buying Choices
The first step in reducing textile waste is to reconsider your buying patterns. Tips to help make greener textile buying choices:
- Consider purchasing fewer items and ensuring those items are good quality and designed to last for many years. Quality over quantity!
- Think about whether you already have a similar item in your closet, and make purchases based on needs instead of wants.
- Unsubscribe from clothing store e-newsletters. These can urge impulsive purchases of clothing you may not need.
- Buy used at thrift stores (see stores listed above).
- Look for environmental certifications like fair trade, certified organic, or bluesign. These labels indicate consideration for the environmental and impacts of the garments' manufacture.
- Buying new: If you must buy something new, try and buy something made entirely or partly from recycled materials, or make sure that what you're buying is something you will want for years to come. It's hard to know for sure, but it's probably not whatever the passing fad of the day is. Foster your own style, because that's what you'll want to wear long term!
Reuse Your Clothing Items
Below are some ways to contribute reusing of clothing items, along with helpful resources sourced by City staff: