The Sheridan Recycling Program has been reinstated at Sheridan stores in the ACT after an unplanned hiatus caused by pandemic restrictions.

The program is the first of its kind within the Australian homewares sector. It is hoped other textile industry giants will follow Sheridan’s lead with similar initiatives to reduce their carbon footprint.

To participate in the recycling program, members of the public can simply take their old quilt covers, sheets and towels, regardless of the brand, and drop them off at one of the Sheridan stores across the ACT.

The items are then repurposed into recycled yarn, a new product, or even donated to an animal shelter, instead of being dumped into a landfill where items could take up to 200 years to decompose.

Group general manager, Paul Gould, is pleased to see the program back at full capacity and said it felt especially fortuitous that the re-opening occurred during National Recycling Week.

“Textile waste is a huge problem not only nationally, but internationally as well. Research puts figures of 780,000 tonnes of textiles going to landfill each year, with only a 7 per cent recycling rate. Through our recycling program, not only are we encouraging customers to recycle and educating them on reducing and reusing, but we’re actively diverting textile waste from landfill,” Mr Gould said.

“Preloved bed linen and towels are converted into recycled yarn, which can then be repurposed into new products. When materials aren’t suitable for conversion into yarn, a use is still found for them – such as insulation.”

Nationally, 66,259kg of textiles have been collected and redirected from landfill to date, thanks to the recycling program.

“To be a responsible business, we need to drive action to minimise these problems. A lot of pressure is placed on consumers to solve these problems, whereas we can work together with those who have put their trust into us and provide an active solution that benefits both,” Mr Gould said.

“Initiatives like these, even though not a solution for every problem within the textile industry, empower customers to make thoughtful decisions about their own sustainability habits – from small habits to major life changes.”

Sheridan is involved in the Goondiwindi Cotton Project to test whether shredded cotton products added to cotton-growing soil would be a scalable solution to textile waste, while also benefiting the health of the soil.

“We are hoping through the project that the results will provide evidence for a large-scale circular solution for 100 per cent cotton textile products in Australia, which are naturally biodegradable, renewable and recyclable. This could be groundbreaking for our industry,” Mr Gould said.

“My vision for the organisation is to be the change agent of the industry and be leading we hope others follow. When we launched this program, it was the first of its kind in the Australian homewares industry, and we hope it inspires other companies to put similar initiatives in place.”

If you’re looking to get involved in the Sheridan Recycling Program and donate your old textiles you can find your nearest store here.