Private clothing donation bins are helping municipalities lower the cost of waste disposal by providing consumers with a convenient way to recycle unwanted textiles. But bins do much more than this, and can even help mobilize social thought and action.

But donation bins must be properly maintained and managed. Municipalities across the nation are beginning to recognize the need for regulating recycling bins in their communities. Examples where local regulations have been passed include: Fairfax County, Virginia; Laurel, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; Gastonia, North Carolina; Portage, Michigan; and Worchester, Massachusetts. (Read what one assistant city planner had to say about his municipality's experience with bin regulations by clicking here.)

Planet Aid applauds local efforts to make recycling available to the public, and we offer our support to help make sure that consumers have a way to conveniently recycle their textiles without any hassles or drawbacks.  We encourage government representatives and others to download our white paper: Five Things Local Governments Must Know About Private Clothing Donation Bins.

ADDITIONAL REFERENCES

Click here to download a copy of a model ordinance to regulate textile recycling bins.

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Bin Regulation in the News

New Regulations for Donation Drop-Off Boxes Adopted

Lawsuit Over Donation Bins in St Johns Settled

Ypsilanti Township Moves to Regulate Blighted Charity Collection Bins

Court Finds First Amendment Problems with Ban on Unattended, Charitable Bins

Laurel Council Approves Donation Bin Law

Sixth Circuit Rules Against St. John's, Michigan Ordinance Banning Charitable Donation Bins

Victory at the Sixth Circuit

Bans on Outdoor Charity Bins Unconstitutional

Court Says St Johns Cant Enforce Collection Bin Ban

Sandusky, Ohio Bolsters Clothing Bin Rules

Planet Aid Offers Help with Conneat Ohio's Bin Problem

Recycling and Bin Convenience

Senate Resolution 251 in Support of the Recycling Industry

Cooley, A. (2013). Going Public, Resource-Recycling.

Ando, A.W., & Gosselin, A.Y. (2005).  Recycling in multifamily dwellings: does convenience matter? Economic Inquiry, 43(2), 426-438.

Barr, S., & Gilg, A. (2005). Conceptualising and analyzing household attitudes and actions to a growing environmental problem: Development and application of a framework to guide local waste policy. Applied Geography, 25, 226-247.

Birkner, A., Celusnak, K., Nutini, G., Rycenga, J., Winter, H.,  & Wood-Nartker, J. (2010). Predicted recycling bin usage in apartment complexes. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 9.

Domina, T., & Kock, K. (2001).  Textile recycling, convenience, and the older adult.  Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 93(5), 35-40.

Largo-Wright, E., Johnston, D.D., & Wight, J. (2013). The efficacy of a theory-based, participatory recycling intervention on a college campus. Journal of Environmental Health, 76(4), 26-31.

Martin, M., Williams, I.D.,  & Clark, M. (2006). Social, cultural and structural influences on household waste recycling: A case study. Resource Conversation and Recycling, 48(4), 357-395.

Sekito, T., Prayogo, T.B., Yoshitake, T., & Bagus, I. (2013). Influence of a community –based waste management system on people’s behavior and waste reduction. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 72, 84-90.

Sidique, S.F., Lupi, L., & Joshi, S. V. (2010).  Effects of behavior and attitudes on drop-off recycling activities.  Resource Conservation and Recycling, 15(3), 163-170.

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2006). Recycling: Additional efforts could increase municipal recycling (GAO-07-37). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Wagner, T.P.  (2013). Examining the concept of convenient collection: An application to extended producer responsibility and product stewardship frameworks. Waste Management, 33(3), 499-507.

Climate Change and Textiles

Lu, J., & Hamouda, H. (2014). Current status of fiber waste recycling and its future. Advanced Materials Research, 878, 122-131.

Muthu, S.S., Li, Y., Hu, J.Y., & Mok, P.Y. (2103). Modelling and quantification of Eco-functional Index: the concept and applications of eco-functional assessment. Ecological Indicators, 26, 33-43.

Muthu, S.S., Li, Y., Hu, J.Y., & Mok, P.Y. (2012). Quantification of environmental impact and ecological sustainability for textile fibres. Ecological Indicators, 13, 66-74.

Muthu, S.S., Li, Y., Hu, J.Y.,  & Mok, P.Y. (2012). Recyclability Index (RPI): The concept and quantification of textile fibres. Ecological Indicators, 18, 58-62.

Zaffalon, V. (2010). Climate change, carbon mitigation and textiles. Textile World, 160(4), 34-35.

Major Reports on Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability.  Berlin, Germany: Field, C., Barros, V., Mach, K., Mastrandrea, M., van Alst, M., Adger, N., … Yohe, G.W.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. (2014). Climate change 2014: Mitigation of climate change technical summary. Berlin, Germany: Edenhofer, O., Pichs-Madruga, R., Sokona, Y., Kadner, S., Minx, J., Brunner, S., …Quadrelli, R.

U.S. Global Change Research Program. (2014) Climate change impacts in the United States: The third national climate assessment. Washington D.C.: Melillo, J. M., Richmond, T.C., & Yohe, G.W. (Eds.). doi:10.7930/J0Z31WJ2.