The city’s Sanitation Department selected neighborhoods in Community Board 11 – which include Bayside, Douglaston and Little Neck – to participate in a pilot program for curbside clothing and textile pickup through a special one-time collection this fall.
According to Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, textiles make up about 6 percent of New York City waste. Garcia said that recycling and reusing this material will help the city reach its goal of zero waste to landfills by 2030.
“Each year, city residents throw away more than 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles,” said Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia. “This trial illustrates our continuing efforts to find innovative ways of recycling the most common materials found in our waste stream.”
This program is a partnership with the Uniformed Sanitationmen’s Association, Local 831, which will use existing personnel and equipment to collect the items on the overnight shift.
The Community Board 11 collections are scheduled for the week of Oct. 19, and residents should leave textiles out on their recycling day during that week. DSNY will evaluate the viability of continuing the program after the collection.
Board 11 was among other neighborhoods chosen for the pilot based on the high percentage of single-family homes not eligible for programs tailored for larger density buildings. The area has limited access to drop-off locations for donation of clothing and textiles.
All items collected by the sanitation department will be donated to Goodwill to help empower individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment.
Residents in the designated pilot neighborhoods will receive specially marked pink-colored bags in the mail, and additional bags can be picked up from their local community board. Only one pickup will be made from each residence during their specified collection week.
The Sanitation Department will accept clean, unwanted clothing, shoes, handbags, belts, towels, linens and curtains. Ripped or torn items will also be accepted and recycled, but books, rugs, suitcases, lamps or toys will not be accepted.
