There are new bins at the recycling center for textiles and shoes. —Jack Sanders photo
Recycling isn’t just about bottles and cans, and Ridgefield’s recycling center is expanding what it will take. Textile products and used shoes are now accepted at the center, and arrangements to recycle paint are in the works.
Bins for recycling cloth goods and shoes were set up at the recycling center on South Street recently by a Massachusetts-based firm.
“There are a couple of containers there that are for the purpose of collecting whatever Goodwill does not accept,” First Selectman Rudy Marconi said. “Shoes — Goodwill does not accept shoes. So, whatever shoes you have deposit them there. The containers are as you drive into the recycling center.”
Ellen Rossini, office manager of the town’s Public Services Department, said the new bins can significantly broaden what residents recycle.
“These are to collect all types of textiles,” she said. “Bay State Textiles is the company responsible for setting up the bins, emptying the contents captured and ultimately getting the material to the proper recycling entity. They may use the items as is or rework the materials into something new.
“It is estimated that only about 15% of used textiles are being recycled in the U.S,” she said.
A study of municipal waste in Massachusetts found that textiles made up almost 5% of what was sent to incinerators and landfills, she said.
“The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association, or SMART, is working to educate the public in the area of recycled textiles. They estimate that 95% of used textiles can be reused or repurposed,” Ms. Rossini said. “Bay State’s bins are an easy way to get those textiles out of the waste stream.”
Paul Curry, a spokesperson for Bay State Textiles, was on site Tuesday and said that 190 pounds were collected from the bins in less than a week.
“And that was without any promotion,” he said. “We just opened up in Connecticut; we’re just getting started.”
He estimated that 45% of the collection was used clothing that could be reused “all over the world” and that 20% of the material would be converted into synthetic-fiber material used for insulation.
He added that a majority of what his company collects is shoes, but has taken a variety of other goods, including drapes, bed sheets and underwear.
Ms. Rossini said that’s not all that people can recycle.
“People will be able to bring their unwanted footwear (singletons, too), clothing, towels, bedding and other fabric-based products like tablecloths, backpacks, belts, hats and pillows,” Ms. Rossini said. “Best of all, they take stuffed animals! Donated items can be old, ripped or stained but should be clean when put into the bins.
“It’s for all kinds of textiles and to keep it out of the trash,” she added. “It’s just a wide open industry. They want to use that stuff, but also keep it out of the waste stream — incinerators, and some states still have landfills; it’s a good thing.”
Recycling paint
The selectmen last week reviewed an agreement for recycling used paint with PaintCare Inc., and scheduled a town meeting vote on a contract for July 23.
PaintCare Inc. is non-profit organization created by paint manufacturers and producers to recycle their products. It operates in states — like Connecticut — that have laws setting up a program of industry-financed paint recycling.
“Basically,” Mr. Marconi told the selectmen, PaintCare will “come and pick everything up and dispose of it.”
The specifics of the local facility aren’t worked out yet.
“Are they going to have a special area for people to put paint?” Selectwoman Maureen Kozlark asked.
“They’re going to have to,” Mr. Marconi replied.
Ms. Rossini was optimistic about the paint recycling.
“It’s coming,” she said. “Everything has to be in its original container — you pour something in to a plastic container, that container isn’t allowed here. It’s got to be in its original paint can. You’ve got to be able to read what it is.”
The paint cans also have to have their lids on, closing them up, she said.
There will also be a limit on how much paint may be dropped off in one delivery.
The American Coatings Association started working with states several years ago to solve the problem of paint disposal, and in 2009 Oregon became the first state to adopt what the industry calls a “paint stewardship law.”
PaintCare operates programs in five states, including Connecticut, and plans to start them in three others, and is working with other states to get recycling laws passed.
“Not every state does it,” Ms. Rossini said.
“It’ll be great. People won’t have to truck all that stuff from here to ether Newtown or Danbury for household hazardous waste days,” Ms. Rossini said.
“Especially if you have this stuff stored up in your house, you just want to get rid of it.”