Residents of Noblesville will soon have a new, easy way to recycle secondhand clothing and other household items thanks to a partnership with Simple Recycling. The free, optional curbside recycling service will begin Jan. 11.
The city has maintained a biweekly recycling program through Republic Services, but city officials say this new program with Simple Recycling demonstrates the city’s commitment of being responsible stewards of the environment.
“We are already a recycling leader in Noblesville,” Noblesville Mayor John Ditslear stated in a press release. “By implementing Simple Recycling, we’ll be the first in Indiana to expand our services to recycle even more items and keep them out of landfills. I was surprised to learn that without programs like these in most communities, 85 percent of textiles go to our landfills according to the EPA – which is an average of 70 pounds per person each year.”
Acceptable items for the new program include men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, bedding and linens, kitchenware, handbags and accessories and much more. Items not accepted include large furniture and appliances, magazines, newspapers, car seats, cribs and mattresses.
“The Simple Recycling program is completely voluntary and does not cost the city or taxpayers a cent,” Ditslear stated in a press release.. “Simple Recycling also manages the operation and customer service.”
The clothing and home goods collected by Simple Recycling are sorted, and approximately 10 percent goes to local thrift store partners, approximately 70 to 80 percent goes to international brokers for use in developing countries, and the remaining 10 percent not suitable for resale is ground up into base products for use in insulation, industrial wiping rags, bedding products and a number of other commercial uses.
“The goal of the program is not to lessen the items residents already donate to local nonprofits, charities or other organizations but to increases awareness about the materials in our homes, reuse and the items we might otherwise throw away,” Ditslear stated in a press release. “Simple Recycling will take items that others may deem as (unable to resell).”
The program also offers Noblesville a direct incentive of one cent per pound of collected items.
“We sincerely appreciate Noblesville’s partnership and leadership in Indiana as an environmentally conscience city,” Simple Recycling President Adam Winfield stated in a press release. “The success of curbside recycling of clothing and home goods in Noblesville will demonstrate to surrounding communities the need and value for this wonderful program. We would like to thank the leadership of Noblesville and its residents for embracing this worthwhile environmental initiative.”
How Simple Recycling works
• Four mailers in total are being sent to homes in Noblesville. In the second mailer that was recently sent, residents received specially labeled bags that they can place clothing and small household goods into and set out on their recycling day for collection every other week. These bags were specifically made yellow for Noblesville so they are not confused with the green biodegradable leaf bags provided by the city.
• Beginning Jan. 11, Simple Recycling will begin picking up its bags on the same day, but not necessarily the same time as regular recycling pick up.
• If an item does not fit into the bag, but is still eligible for Simple Recycling, residents can place a tag on it and sit it out near their regular recycling container for pick up.
• New bags will be tied on to resident’s trash cans when a pickup is made so residents may recycle more in the future. If a resident needs more bags than what is left, he or she can request them on the Simple Recycling web site, www.simplerecycling.com, or by calling the company at 866-835-5068.
• Simple Recycling comes 24 hours later if notified of any missed pick-ups.
Submitted press release.
