CTR FAQ

Chicago Textile Recycling receives numerous questions from readers and recyclers daily. We are happy to answer any and all questions you may have about textile recycling as one of our goals is to educate readers about the importance of recycling textiles and keeping them out of landfills. There are a few questions that come up repeatedly in our inbox and so thought it may be helpful to address some of those with a blog post covering each one.

Can I Ship Items to Your Facility?

You are welcome to ship items to our facility in Hillside, however it will be at cost to you. This is why we do our best in placing bins around the Chicagoland area, partner with SWALCO to place even more bins, partner with local resale stores, and are always looking for new, often frequented locations to add more bins. If you are looking for a bin or partner resale store near your location, please email us and we will let you know of the closest one. Also, if you know of a business that would be happy to host a bin, please reach out to us.

Where Do I Take Items too Worn for Resale?

Another question we receive quite frequently at CTR is this one. And our answer is “donate all of your items to the same place.” Resale store employees are experienced in knowing what will have resale value and separating out the rest to sell/give to textile recyclers and graders.

CTR works with numerous resale stores in the Chicagoland area consistently picking up items unusable by resale stores and sending them overseas or to graders, who decide the fate of each item. When in doubt of what to do with a used textile, it is best to donate it and let the experts decide if it is indeed at its end of life. We accept worn, torn and stained items, so please donate them.

Why Don’t You Post a List of Your Bins

As for the question we often receive regarding why we don’t post a public list of our bins, at this time we don’t provide one.  Unfortunately in our industry there are many illegal bin operators that don’t follow permitting and permission guidelines.  These companies often search for public lists and drop illegal bins on the listed properties.  This causes confusion and hassle for our donors as well as partner locations.  So we keep our list private to help protect our recycling partners from these types of operations.

Do You Recycle Fabric Scraps?

Most recycling organizations are seeking clothing, as it is the most versatile material for recycling.  Although there are recycling options for scraps, it is really large volumes (hundreds of pounds) that are necessary to process these kinds of materials.  With that in mind, we always recommend that individuals get creative with these items for recycling.  We would recommend that you contact a local preschool or daycare and see if they would like these items for their art room.  Often these kinds of locations greatly appreciate donations of this sort. Another resource we would recommend you checkout is freecycle.

Can You Destroy Company Apparel?

Yes! Our Business Recycling & Destruction Services program offers local businesses the opportunity to responsibly recycle branded apparel items through textile recycling. We typically are able to accept: 100% Cotton T-Shirts, Polo Shirts and Sweatshirts and Cotton/Poly Blend T-Shirts, Polo Shirts and Sweatshirts. CTR is able to offer a certificate of recycling to your company as well as photographic evidence of destruction per request. Our destruction services are free once the apparel arrives at our facility. We are able to pick up for a fee or you can ship/drop off to us. Please see our website for more information.

What Happens with the Donations?

This is another great question we receive quite often. There are many possibilities of where your donated clothes can end up. This is why it is so important to not throw textiles away! The short answer is: resale, wiping rags, reprocessing or landfill. To know more about each of these and follow the entire process, read our blog about “Where Do They Go? Part 1 – Bins”.For what happens when donating to resale stores, the process is nearly identical. You can read all about it in “Where Do They Go? Part 2 – Resale Stores”.

Other Questions??

Was this helpful in answering some of your questions? We hope so. Here at CTR, we work hard to educate our readers and recyclers about the importance of textile recycling, so we would love to answer any questions that may come up. If you have any questions that were not covered by this blog, please reach out to us.