As we indulge in the shopping frenzy during Singles' Day, have we ever thought about the clothes we discard? They could take over a decade to decompose in landfills, and if all are discarded or buried as garbage, it would lead to waste of resources and environmental pollution. "Three years new, three years old, and another three years mended," this was a true reflection of the hardworking and thrifty life of the common people in the past. However, with the development of the times and the improvement of living standards, the pace of clothing updates has also accelerated, resulting in a surge of old clothes. The ways people dispose of old clothes vary; the elderly tend to hoard them at home, while most young people throw them in the trash, leading to a waste of resources.
What are the benefits of clothing recycling?
Statistics show that Americans discard about 10,000 tons of clothing annually, while China generates approximately 20 million tons of used clothing from production and consumption, with a recyclability rate of less than 14%.
The research findings from the International Recycling Association (BIR) indicate that using 1kg of recycled clothing can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 3.6kg, save 6,000 liters of water, decrease the use of 0.3kg of fertilizer and 0.2kg of pesticides. If all discarded clothing in our country were recycled, it would annually provide 12 million tons of chemical fibers and 6 million tons of natural fibers, equivalent to saving 24 million tons of crude oil—more than half of the Daqing Oil Field's output. It would also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 80 million tons and decrease land occupation by 20 million mu, accounting for 30% of the total cotton planting area in the country.
However, dealing with old clothes is indeed a challenging task. The civil affairs department doesn't accept them, throwing them away is painful, and keeping them at home takes up space. Many people are unsure where to send their old clothes. In a small town of 1.5 million people, there would be thousands of tons of old clothes produced each year. These clothes go from trash bins to landfills, with some synthetic chemicals requiring over 10 years to decompose. If all of them are discarded or buried as waste, it would lead to resource waste and environmental pollution.
In addition, incinerating old clothes requires a significant amount of coal, electricity, and other energy resources, and the incineration process itself generates a large amount of pollutants, including carbon dioxide and ash from combustion. If buried, it not only occupies land but also contaminates soil and water with harmful substances.
Recycling old clothing may be a green and more responsible approach. Recycled garments are disinfected and cleaned, then can be processed into primary materials like rags and carpets. Additionally, the high-energy chemical fibers from discarded clothing can be converted into heat through incineration.
