Textiles collected at Noosa's Give a Sheet day
Noosa Shire Council has partnered with clean technology innovator BlockTexx to give new life to textile products that are sitting unloved in linen cupboards.
People are being encouraged to ‘Give a Sheet’ for the planet by donating their old sheets, towels, pillowcases, quilt covers and other linen at dedicated council collection days.
Donated linen is then repurposed by BlockTexx through its Separation of Fibre Technology (SOFT) to become new resources for construction, manufacturing and agriculture.
Noosa Shire Council was one of the first in Australia to support the initiative, which Mayor Clare Stewart says was an opportunity to show Noosa’s commitment to transitioning to a green economy as part of Council’s Smart Biosphere strategy.
“We need to reduce textile waste going to landfill, and this initiative was not only a win for the environment, but also helped create new resources for other sectors and ultimately an exciting new industry,” Mayor Stewart said.
Noosa Councillor Joe Jurisevic says it was exciting to see Noosa become part of a true circular economy initiative.
“This was a tangible, productive way to reduce what goes to landfill and help minimise our impact on the environment,” he said.
Noosa Council's Kate Wienburg, Sally Jensen, Emma Menzies, Jordan Vance and Joanna Ferris
Councillor Jurisevic said Australia is the world’s second-largest consumer of textiles per person (after the United States) and Give a Sheet is an important initiative, with global textile waste predicted to hit 140 million tonnes by 2030.
“We encourage other councils to hold similar Give a Sheet events,” Cr Jurisevic said.
BlockTexx Co-Founder Adrian Jones said that at the Noosa event alone, 1.4 tonnes of textile waste were collected from 250 households, an average of 5.6 kilograms per household.
Mr Jones said, in setting up collection opportunities, councils were leading the way in providing smart onshore recycling solutions for textile waste.
“We really hope to see more of these events happening around the nation,” Mr Jones said.
BlockTexx has recently opened Australia’s first textile recovery facility in Loganholme and plans to divert 50,000 tonnes of textiles from landfill over four years.
To set up a ‘Give a Sheet’ collection day, councils should contact Tonia Bastyan at tonia@blocktexx.com.