Anglicare Retail Phillip store supervisor Sarah Hubert says she and her team of volunteers can only sell a fraction of the clothing that comes through the front door of their op shop.
โProbably only about 30% is saleable,โ she says.
โThereโs a lot of things that we canโt use that go to landfill.โ
The charity storeโs team does its best to recycle or rehome donations that arenโt suitable for a spot on the shelves.
โThings like old towels, people from refuges will come and give us a token for those; or I drop them at the vets occasionally, because people who care for animals are always needing cotton.โ
When thatโs not possible, Anglicare Retail sells what it can to a third party that repurposes textiles.
Sarahโs top tip on Global Recycling Day is to wash every item before donating, to ensure itโs in good enough condition to live another life.
Her charity shop canโt wash donations, and items that have a bad smell, mould, or are heavily soiled go straight to landfill.
Back in 2009-10, over 500,000 tonnes, or 88%, or leather and textiles were sent to landfill in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
A decade later, most textiles and leather still end up in landfill, as indicated by 2018-19 statistics, with just a quarter of leather and textiles sent for recycling, used for energy production or exported.
Households contribute nearly 90% of all textiles waste, with ABS data indicating each Australian sends an average of 23kg of textiles to landfill each year.
Sarah is passionate about sustainability and the role op shops play in the recycling process.
โItโs the reason I work here.โ
Sarah recalls a video of teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg saying she wants โthe adults to panic and do something nowโ.
โThatโs why Iโm working here, because itโs a very small part of my panic – to sort of save the world through my shop.โ
Anglicare Retail is โvery much a community shopโ, and staff know plenty of regulars.
โHaving an op shop, as well as saving the clothes, gives people the opportunity to have the dignity to spend the money that they have on what they want.โ
Although the store doesnโt have a specific program for low-income shoppers, staff intentionally set affordable prices.
โBecause the prices are very low, we do have people who we know are on low incomes come in, and theyโre very happy spending what theyโve got rather than having to ask for something.โ
According to Charitable Recycling Australia, the revenue created by donations translates into $550 million towards charitable mission and social welfare programs annually.
To donate or get involved visit anglicare.com.au.
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