Goodwill collects more than 14,000 pounds of clothes as part of Richland recycling

An estimated 60 to 70 people have received clothes as a result of Richland’s recycling partnership with Goodwill Industries of the Columbia.

The city has collected 14,660 pounds of clothing, shoes, purses, belts and other soft items between when the program started in February and mid-June, according to a Richland news release.

The city’s 5,000 recycling customers were given orange bags to put textiles in, and place the bags inside their recycling containers for collection.

“We’ve gotten generally positive feedback from residents that like the convenience of it,” said Lynne Follett, Richland solid waste support specialist.

So far, 1,104 of the orange bags have been returned, though some were from repeat donors, Follett said.

Goodwill has been pleased with the program, so far, CEO Gordon Comfort said.

“We’re really excited about the response,” he said. “We know that, as we make donations more convenient, more people will do it.”

Comfort points to federal Environmental Protection Agency statistics that show around 15 percent of textiles are recycled, meaning most are dumped in landfills where they take up space and can lead to dyes and chemicals getting into soil and groundwater.

Richland is believed to be among the first cities in the country to have such a recycling program with Goodwill.

Richland has been able to accept the orange bags because of its “co-mingled” recycling bin system. Comfort said other area cities use separate containers for different types of recycling, which would make it difficult to collect the bags.

The orange bags are taken to Richland’s recycling center as part of every other week collection. They are crushed along with aluminum, tin, plastic, paper and cardboard products. The bags are then removed by hand and picked up by Goodwill, then taken to its West Richland location, where they are sorted.

Items that are collected in good condition are sold at Goodwill’s retail stores. Those in poorer condition are shipped to Third World countries, while others are recycled as shop rags.

Customers in Richland do not see any extra charges because of the program.

Richland residents interested in taking part in recycling can call 509-942-7700 or visit www.ci.richland.wa.us/recycle.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Goodwill collects more than 14,000 pounds of clothes as part of Richland recycling."