Throwing Old Clothes in the Bin
– Which Bin is Best?
This post was first created in Jan 2023 and last updated in 2024
Hello there my eco-conscious warriors 😊
I have done quite a few blog posts on what to do with old clothes and in my research I have found that a common question people ask is “which bin should I throw my old clothes into?”
Here’s my answer:
You can throw clothes into your landfill bin but there is no need to when there are so many options to reuse, repurpose or recycle clothing. Do not throw clothes into your recycling bin – clothes need to be sent elsewhere for recycling. And while you could throw clothes into charity bins, it is not advised.
In this blog post, I break this all down, covering the following topics:
I advise against throwing clothes into recycling, landfill and charity bins and below I get into all the reasons why and what you should do instead.
Let’s get into it 🚀
Throwing clothes in the recycling bin
Clothing can be recycled but this does not mean it can be thrown in your household recycling bin. That is the last place you should place used and unwanted clothing. Instead, you should send your clothing to a textile sorting facility. They will ensure your clothes are recycled.
Check out this blog post for information on textile sorting facilities and how to get your clothes recycled: Recycling Clothes in Australia – All Your Options Covered!
If you happen to throw your clothes in the recycling bin by accident, there is no need to worry. It will most likely fall out of the recycling stream and be sent to landfill.
In most councils around Australia, the contents of our yellow recycling bin are sent to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) for sorting. Most MRFs follow the process shown below:
Source: https://www.visy.com.au/recycling-education/what-can-you-recycle
If you throw clothing into the recycling bin, it will go through this process and hopefully be pulled out during the manual sorting phase. From there, it will be thrown into landfill.
Not an ideal situation but not a complete disaster!
But like I said, to answer the question “can you put clothes in the recycling bin?” the answer is no you can not. You need to send your clothes to a textile sorting facility. Many organisations that provide these services and you can find all the information you need on this through this blog post.
Throwing clothes in your landfill bin
If you are wondering if you can throw clothes in the bin, you can. However, this is not the best option for getting rid of old clothes. There is no need to send clothes to landfill when there are so many other options to easily reuse, repurpose and recycle clothing.
I have a full guide that covers what to do with clothing you want to get rid of here: What to Do With Unwanted Old Clothes – A Complete Guide.
In this guide you will find details on the following options:
- Give them away to someone in need
- Sell bulk clothing online or in person
- Sell individual clothing items online
- Consignment
- Clothing swaps
- Repair and reuse
- Repurposing
- Textile recycling
- Composting
Explore these options before throwing clothes in the bin.
Now, if you are wondering what happens if you do decide to throw your clothes in the bin, here’s the answer:
Clothes thrown into the bin will end up in landfill, emitting greenhouse gases and contributing towards other detrimental environmental impacts associated with landfill. And this is a problem given how much clothing we send to landfill each year.
There are three main problems associated with landfills:
- Landfill produces harmful greenhouse gases, such as methane and carbon dioxide, when waste decomposes.
- Leachate is produced when waste decomposes. This is a liquid that contains harmful chemicals, leading to groundwater contamination.
- Vermin can be attracted to solid waste and carry potential diseases to other areas
Some other issues include:
- Soil and land pollution, making the land it sits on and surrounding lands unsuitable for any other use
- Health concerns for those who live around landfill sites
- Risk of fires, caused by trapped methane gas
While these risks are managed through certain mitigation strategies, they are still of concern.
The production of methane is often cited as a major concern in articles exploring the environmental impact of landfill waste. According to the EPA in the US, about 15% of the US methane emissions can be sourced back to landfill gas.
Source: https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas
This is a problem because methane is a much more potent gas than carbon dioxide. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is capable of trapping 28 – 36 times more heat over 100 years.
In Australia, the risks associated with methane and other landfill gases are managed by collecting and combusting gases using a flare or electricity generation system. Flaring of landfill gas converts methane to carbon dioxide. While this is a less potent gas, it is still problematic and a cause for concern.
Adding clothing to landfill compounds these problems.
We need to keep in mind that the majority of clothing is made from synthetic materials, such as polyester, nylon and acrylic. These materials take a long time to decompose, increasing the chances of chemicals leaching into soils and waterways.
Source: Fashion Revolution https://twitter.com/Fash_Rev/status/951756962609410048/photo/1
And how much clothing waste do we produce?
Source: NATIONAL CLOTHING PRODUCT STEWARDSHIP SCHEME – CLOTHING DATA REPORT
It shows that in a year, Australians sent 227,000 tonnes of clothing into landfill.
That’s 277,000,000 kg. If we take the population of Australia to be roughly 26 million, that’s 8.7 kg of clothing being thrown into landfill per person.
That is a problem.
So while you could throw old clothes in the bin, I advise against it and I encourage you to explore other options available to get rid of unwanted clothing.
Throwing clothes into a charity bin
Yes, you can throw items of clothing into a charity bin. However, the clothing needs to be washed and fit for wear. Also while you can throw clothes into these bins, it is not advised since there are better options to deal with clothing that is fit for wear.
What’s so bad about putting clothing into charity bins?
Clothing in charity bins will end up with the organisations that run those bins. The bins may be run by charities or by commercial operators. In both cases, some of the donated clothing will be sold overseas, where it may end up in landfill.
When it comes to commercial operators like SCR Group and King Cotton, your clothing will likely end up overseas.
The SCR group, which has several charity bins across Australia, sells roughly 65% of the clothing it receives to other countries in the Global South, as part of the second-hand clothing export trade. King Cotton sells 95%. This is how these commercial operators earn their income.
The rest of the clothing they receive is mostly not fit for use so it is incinerated or used to make biofuels, under unknown and potentially unregulated conditions. Incinerating clothing waste is less than ideal as it can lead to several negative health and environmental impacts.
When it comes to the bins operated by charities such as the Salvation Army, Vinnies and the Red Cross, the clothing can end up:
- being sold in their charity stores (16.5%)
- donated to those in need (0.5%) or
- sold overseas (33%)
And if the clothes are not suitable for wear they could end up:
- repurposed in Australia as rags or other products (36%) or
- thrown into landfill (14%)
So there is a chance that your fit for wear clothing will end up overseas.
What’s the big deal with that?
Well while the stated intention is to “help” the Global South by providing them with items of clothing rejected by those of us in the Global North, it can do more harm than good.
Sometimes the quality of clothing is so bad or the quantity is so overwhelming, that it can flood overseas markets, killing local trade, with excess clothing eventually ending up in landfill.
For more information on this check out What REALLY Happens to Donated Clothes in Australia
So if you have clothes that are fit for wear, I would recommend you check out other options to get rid of your clothing – it does not need to end up in landfill and it does not need to be thrown into a charity bin, where it may end up being sold overseas.
For a list of other options to consider, check out What to Do With Unwanted Old Clothes – A Complete Guide.
If you are not interested in any other options and would like to place the clothes you have in a charity bin, then use the links below to find an old clothes bin near you:
- Anglicare
- Brotherhood Of St Laurence
- Good Sammy
- Lifeline
- Salvos
- Save The Children
- Smith Family
- Red Cross
- Vinnies
Remember the clothing needs to be washed, undamaged and fit for wear. These bins are not a place for damaged clothing.
Whatever you do, do not place your bags of clothing outside of the bins. This is considered illegal dumping and heavy penalties apply as a result.
Parking lots often have security cameras so don’t take the risk. Place the clothing bags into the bin and if they don’t fit, find a bin in your area that isn’t so full.
Check out the map at https://www.charitybins.com.au/ if you are struggling to find a bin.
What to do with clothes that need to be thrown away?
If you have clothes that are beyond repair and reuse, you don’t have to throw them away. There are many ways you can repurpose textile waste. And at the very least, you could send the clothes to a textiles recycling facility. They will ensure the clothes are reprocessed and reused in some way.
Here are some repurposing options you can consider, with links to further information:
- Use as cleaning rags
- Use as makeup wipes
- Use as tissues
- Use in kid’s dressup and crafts
- Use in a DIY upcycle project
- Donate to Boomerang Bags
- Donate to animal shelters or your local mechanic
- Post to a Facebook freecycle group
- Check if there is a textile take-back program
- Throw it into your compost (while not technically repurposing, it is noted here)
There are so many options available to avoid sending clothing to landfill!
I encourage you to check them out. It can be so easy to throw clothes in the bin but by taking the time out to consider other options and make more conscious choices, we can collectively work towards a more sustainable future 🌎
xxx Tahsin
FAQs
Where can I throw old clothes in Australia?
Old clothes can be thrown into your household bin however that is not the best place for this waste product. Textiles can be repurposed or at the very least recycled. Explore these options before you throw clothes away.
Check out What to Do With Unwanted Old Clothes – A Complete Guide for more information.
Which bin do clothes go into in Australia?
Clothes go into the landfill bin in Australia – do not place clothes in the yellow recycling bin. Clothes can not be recycled through your local council so it doesn’t belong in the recycling bin.
That said, while clothes can go into the bin, there should be no need to throw clothing away. Even for items that are beyond use.
Have a read of the options under What to Do With Clothes that CANNOT be Donated before you throw anything into the bin.
How do you dispose of a large amount of clothes?
How to dispose of a large amount of clothes depends on the quality of the clothing. If it is still fit for wear, you can try to sell the items in bulk or give away the clothing to someone in need. If they are beyond wear, you can consider some reuse, repurposing and recycling options.
Check out What to Do With Unwanted Old Clothes – A Complete Guide for more information.
Should you throw away all old clothes?
You should not throw away old clothes, since there are so many other options to deal with clothing waste. When you put clothes into landfill, it can contribute towards greenhouse gas emissions and stick around for some time, contaminating soil and waterways.
Consider other options to reuse and repurpose textile waste. And if you are struggling to find a use for the material, then send your clothing to a textile recovery centre where they will ensure the clothes are repurposed or recycled.
Check out What to Do With Clothes that CANNOT be Donated for more information.
What do you do with torn clothes?
If you have clothes that are torn, consider getting them repaired. It may seem like a bother but it’s a life skill that can bring a real sense of accomplishment and pleasure once you give it a go. And you would be doing your bit to keep things out of landfill.
If it’s an item that is beyond repair or you just can’t be bothered to repair it (totally understand that feeling!) then consider the options under What to Do With Clothes that CANNOT be Donated.
A Heads Up: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me a small commission at no additional cost to you. Also as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I only recommend products and services that will help you take steps towards a more sustainable life and will not recommend anything that does not align, in some way, with these values.
