According to a new law, all municipalities are required to handle textile collection alongside other waste. Until recently, the Icelandic Red Cross oversaw the export of used textiles, but that responsibility has now shifted to a waste management company Sorpa.
RÚV reports that Sorpa processes between two to three thousand tons of textiles annually. According to Gunnar Dofri Ólafsson, Chief of Service and Communications at Sorpa, the cost of this amounts to approximately 300 million ISK per year for residents in the capital region. “This is an enormous amount,” says Gunnar Dofri. “We receive seven tons every single day of the year. That’s the equivalent of seven Toyota Yaris cars.”
“We firmly believe that it is necessary to introduce a recycling fee on textiles so that those who import and use textiles in the country pay the full price for ensuring they are properly processed at the end of their lifecycle,” says Gunnar Dofri. Such a fee could be around 150 ISK per item.
The Red Cross now only accepts clean and intact clothing intended for resale or emergency aid. It is the responsibility of municipalities to handle textiles that are not fit for resale. “The Red Cross relied heavily on volunteers — we can’t do that. They also had favourable agreements with shipping companies that transported the textiles abroad, viewing it as a form of support for the Red Cross,” explains Gunnar Dofri. This is why the cost of the project is significantly higher for Sorpa.
Most textile waste is unusable
The majority of collected textiles are not suitable for resale, which was also the case when the Red Cross managed clothing collection. “Around 95% of all textiles are sent abroad for recycling or repurposing,” says Gunnar Dofri. Efforts are made to separate and salvage as much usable or sellable clothing as possible.
A strong emphasis is placed on preventing textiles from ending up in waste piles accumulating in South America and Africa. “This is a strict requirement for our recycling partners. They assure us that any textiles unsuitable for recycling or reuse will be incinerated instead, and we will be closely monitoring that this is carried out,” he states.
Municipalities across Europe have also been required to collect and recycle textiles, leading to a massive increase in textile supply. At the same time, textile quality has declined. “Disposable junk that people import and use for a single Instagram photoshoot is becoming more common. The proportion of such items is rising, and at the same time, the overall quantity of textiles is increasing,” says Gunnar Dofri.
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