Recently I read in the Champion newspaper that Sefton Council urges people to "recycle"
their clothes, shoes, etc. in pink bags to avoid landfill. The bags will be collected from the doorstep on a weekly basis.
Landfill? Has anybody ever disputed the quantity of clothing that actually goes into landfill? I believe the numbers come from the rag companies. Has anybody defined the term "recycling"? Most of the stuff is sold onto foreign markets as second hand clothing for quite a bit of money. Hardly anything is actually reprocessed and transformed into something else.
As a charity shop volunteer I am appalled by this scheme. Charity shops
are already suffering from people being encouraged by "Cash4clothes"
points to sell their unwanted clothes, shoes and accessories instead of
donating them. If people no longer take their stuff to charity shops they will have to close down. Not only will there
be a lot of empty shops all over Sefton when they have to close down,
but employees will get the sack too.
Charities not only depend on donations to continue their valuable work,
but they also provide a source of affordable clothing for LOCAL people
on a tight budget. Only what is unsaleable is then sold on to a recycling company.
I wrote to Sefton Cllr. Patricia Hardy and asked her to disclose the details of the Council's arrangement with a rag company that collects the bags? How much money will Sefton Council get out of this "recycling" deal?
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