Isabel Allende said, “You spend the first part of your life collecting things … and the second half getting rid of them.” This is particularly true when we think about all of the textiles that we collect throughout our lifetime.

What are textiles? Clothing, primarily but also includes pillowcases, towels, sheets, blankets or anything else that is made from fabric. While here in our area counties, we are fortunate to have several thrift stores, residents may find it interesting that the fastest growing category of waste that is landfilled is clothing. This is particularly true during our spring-cleaning efforts. We see a high volume of clothes being thrown away when generally there is a lot of life left in the textiles that we no longer want or need.

We would like to encourage all residents to not throw away clothing or other textiles but instead bring them to other sources instead. We realize that this is not always possible but we would like to encourage residents to rethink their unwanted textiles.

We would like to encourage those who are disposing of unwanted clothing or other textiles such as sheets, pillowcases or blankets to consider using one of our many thrift stores instead.

We have several options in the area and if I have missed anyone in this list, please call our office so we can promote you and what you are taking. Goodwill, Avera Thrift Store, DAV of Minnesota, and One More Time Thrift Store in Minneota are good places to start. Just as we are glad to answer any questions, these businesses are also happy to assist you with any questions you may have.

If you are disposing of textiles, there are a few steps to follow: make sure your items are clean. This is important not only for the safety of those who are accepting the textiles but also for any chance of the items to be reused. Please remember items should not be wet or moldy. These cannot be accepted.

Goodwill in particular is able to take clothing or textiles that have seen their better days. These are often sorted out and made into rags. Don’t give up on a pair of jeans just because they have a lot of holes or are torn.

Now for the numbers: the average American now generates approximately 82 pounds of textile waste each year according to Waste 360. This adds up to more than 11 million tons of textile waste just in the United States alone.

Yes, there are companies who will ship unwanted items overseas however, they are receiving so much that they are starting to reject some shipments due to the overwhelming amount that they have been getting.

How can residents reduce the amount of clothing or other textiles that are brought into your home? Wear items until they wear out. Give away or sell items that are still wearable. There are quite a few online merchants that you can sell extra items through as well as some companies, particularly jean companies that are taking back jeans once we are done wearing them.

Residents can also avoid companies that make cheap clothing or other products that do not last as long. This is called Fast Fashion. Fast fashion production will often produce clothing articles that are often of low quality and are made quickly so often times’ workmanship may be questionable.

There are manufacturers working towards having their products last longer and once they are at the end of their life, then they can be taken back in to be made into new clothing.

Textiles can be handled more efficiently from our communities especially if all of us can work towards reducing the amount of clothes and other textiles that we are consuming.

Textiles can play a large part of the first two R’s — reduce and reuse — but it will take all of us to reach goals to reduce the amount of waste (trash) going into the landfill. Please find more information about reducing, reusing and recycling on the Lyon County website at www.lyonco.org or call the Lyon County Environmental Department at (507) 532-8210.