Townsville City Council partners with UPPAREL to recycle old uniforms

Townsville

Townsville City Council has partnered with one of Australia’s leaders in textile recovery and recycling UPPAREL, signing up to divert thousands of kilograms of old corporate uniforms from landfill.

Troy Thompson, Mayor, Townsville City Council said the partnership shows council is committed to keeping uniforms from ending up in landfill.

Giving a new life to the textiles by turning them into a material called UPtex which is used for things like homewares, signage and acoustic panelling.

“With more than 1,600 employees across council, the organisation will be cutting down on the number of old uniforms ending up in landfill as council works towards its goal of diverting waste from landfill,” he said.

“Council has a large team to deliver the services our community deserve, and with 1,600-odd people on the books, we estimate there is roughly 10,000 items of council clothing in circulation – equating to around 1,000 kilograms.”

Thompson said the council is encouraging its staff to drop off old uniforms and PPE, including shirts, pants, hi-vis vests, hard hats, hats, glasses, steel-cap boots, corporate shirts, pants, and skirts into one of the drop-off points.

“We not only have four drop-off points across council, but for unworn uniforms or those in excellent condition, we have a number of re-wear racks across the organisation too,” he said.

“Not only is it great to be able to divert thousands of kilograms of textiles from landfill, but this partnership highlights our commitment to transitioning to a circular economy.”

Riley Aickin, Partnerships Manager, UPPAREL said it was fantastic to have Townsville City Council on board as the first Queensland council to partner with UPPAREL.

“Australia has surpassed the USA to become the highest consumer of textiles per capita in the world, with each Australian disposing an average 23 kilograms of clothing to landfill each year,” said Aickin.

“We’ve partnered with some of Australia’s biggest brands and businesses in the fight against textile waste, so it’s terrific to see a local government join the plight to keep materials from ending up in landfill by turning them into new circular products with high-value applications.”

For more information, www.townsville.qld.gov.au/

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