Learn what the state is doing and what you can do to keep clothing, footwear, bedding, curtains and other textiles out of landfills and incinerators. Help put them into the hands of new owners or recycle their fibers into other products.
Guide MassDEP Textile Recovery
In this guide
News & Updates
Check here first for program announcements and news about textile recovery and recycling.
Textiles by the Numbers
Across Massachusetts:
- Residents and businesses dispose of approximately 230,000 tons of textiles annually.
- About 95 percent of this material could be reused or recycled instead of thrown away.
- Nearly six percent of the waste delivered to combustion facilities for disposal is made up of clothing, curtains, towels and other fabrics.
See Additional Resources below to learn more.
Additional Resources
How & Where to Recycle Textiles
Do you have clothing, shoes, or other textiles that you no longer wear or use, but still have plenty of life left in them? Don't throw them away!
Use the MassDEP-supported Beyond the Bin Recycling Directory to search by type of material and your location to find out where in Massachusetts to recycle, reuse, or re-purpose items that don’t belong in your household recycling bin.
Or, bring or mail unwanted clothing and shoes to stores or manufacturers that accept them for recycling.
| Clothing | Footwear |
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The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) maintains this list for consumer convenience. Inclusion on this list does not constitute or imply MassDEP endorsement of a company or its take-back program. This information was last updated in February 2017.
Key Actions
Textile Recovery Media Toolkit
Developed by the Secondary Materials & Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) and the Council for Textile Recycling (CTR) in support of the MassDEP Textile Recovery Initiative, the materials in Additional Resources below are designed to help Massachusetts cities and towns promote textile recovery and stage successful textile collection events.
Additional Resources
Open PDF file, 525.31 KB, for
List of Acceptable Materials
(PDF 525.31 KB)
Textile Recycling Education in Schools
See Additional Resources below to learn about:
- An interactive MassDEP educational program that empowers students and teachers to help the environment through waste reduction, recycling, composting, energy conservation and pollution prevention.
- A unique program that not only raises funds for local schools, but educates the community about the environmental benefits of keeping textiles out of the trash.