We have just introduced campus textile recycling.

We have had textile recycling in the student residences for a long time but we still generate quite a bit on campus too:

The recycling facility is ran by The Salvation Army.

Textiles made from both natural and man-made fibres can be recycled. Textiles include: curtains, bedding, towels, handbags, cloths, rugs and mats.

PLEASE NOTE WE CANNOT ACCEPT ANY PERSONAL TEXTILES FROM HOME. All textiles to be recycled must have been generated as part of University activities.

Make sure the items are clean. We cannot accept oily rags. Remove any NU logos.

Clothes placed in the textile bank are taken to a warehouse for sorting and separated into those good enough to wear again and those that aren’t.

Textiles good enough to wear again are often exported to Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe.

The rest is reprocessed: 22% will be used as filling for furniture, vehicle seats etc; 12% will be used as industrial rags or wiping cloths. Only 7% cannot be used again.

The fibre reclamation process
The mills grade incoming material by material type and colour. The colour sorting means no re-dying has to take place, saving energy and pollutants. Initially the material is shredded into fibres then spun ready for reweaving or knitting. The new yarns can then be used to make new items.

The new fibres can be used to make new clothes, furnishings, blankets, towels and many more things. Industrial quality “blankets” which protect equipment whilst being transporting is one example of what recycled textiles may become.