Textile recycling scheme

Textiles can be recycled by placing them in the clear textile recycling sacks provided.

  • please place your sacks of clean and dry textiles at the front edge of your property by 7.00am on your collection day
  • sacks cannot be placed on the public footpath, grass verge or road
  • you may be liable to a fixed penalty notice should you place your recycling or waste any earlier than the evening before collection

You can also take your textiles to either of the Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs).

These are located in

  • Stock Road, Southend-on-Sea
  • Leigh Marsh, Leigh-on-Sea

You can also donate them to a local charity shop if you do not want to use our kerbside recycling service.

Please do not place textiles inside the pink sacks as we cannot collect pink sacks which contain textiles.

To check your collection day, please see our collection days page.

Textiles made from both natural and man-made fibres can be recycled. All textiles must be clean and dry otherwise we may not be able to collect them for recycling.

What can be recycled?

  • clothes
  • curtains
  • pillow cases and sheets
  • towels
  • handbags
  • hats
  • cloths
  • belts
  • paired shoes

What cannot be recycled?

These items cannot be accepted by textile recycling facilities due to their make-up. However, some animal shelters and charities may be grateful for your donations. If you are unable to find any use for them then they will need to be put in your black refuse sacks.

  • pillows and duvets
  • rugs, mats and carpets
  • cushions

What to do if your textiles sack is not collected

If your textile sack was missed on your collection day, check to see if there is a sticker on it stating why the sack has been left. If there is no sticker then please report your missed collection.

If a resident sees any textile sacks being collected by anyone other than Veolia then residents' should report this directly to the Police on 101, providing the vehicle registration number, time, date etc.

What happens to textiles once they have been collected?

The textile sacks are collected by Veolia. Veolia's vehicles have metal cages on the side of them to store the collected sacks. This keeps them separate from the other materials.

The textiles are then transported to a national textiles recycling facility. Here they are sorted, graded by type and then distributed to their various outlets for reuse. Items which are unsuitable for reuse are turned into flocking for a range of things, such as:

  • stuffing
  • insulation
  • animal bedding

Contact recycling and waste

Telephone: 01702 215006

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