The town of Cumberland recently received its first Apparel Impact textile recycling box, located at Town Hall. Residents can recycle their unwanted or even damaged textiles free of charge, including clothing, shoes, sheets, coats and jackets. The textiles will then be up-cycled and donated to families in need, or recycled to be used as materials like mattress stuffing.
A veteran-owned company, Apparel Impact works in New England to reduce the amount of textiles ending up in landfills and to provide clothing, food, and other resources to families in need. According to the company’s website, nearly 10% of all trash in local landfills are textiles. Apparel Impact provides towns the opportunity to reduce this amount, creating more local jobs, reducing landfill waste, and reducing the town’s overall budgets spent on the disposal of textiles.
Items donated to Apparel Impact must be dry and contain no odor or mold, but they do not need to be in wearable condition. A full list of acceptable items can be found on the Apparel Impact website.
