A NEW clothes and textile collection service is being introduced as part of the Royal Borough’s weekly waste and recycling collections.

From Monday, November 14 residents will now be able to recycle unwanted clothes and textiles alongside their other recycling, food waste and general rubbish.

Residents are being asked to place clean, dry clothes and textiles in any plastic bag, tie the bag, and either label or write on the bag ‘textiles’. The bag should then be placed next to their recycling bin on collection day.

Clean, dry and worn out items, such as clothing, socks, shoes (paired), belts, knitwear, curtains, bedding, blankets, towels and any unwanted handbags can all be recycled. Residents can still give their unwanted clothes in a good condition to their preferred charity but if they put them out for recycling, they will be either recycled or reused.

Cllr Carwyn Cox, cabinet member for environmental services, said: “We are delighted to be introducing this new service for our residents. We hope this means less clothing and textiles will be put in the rubbish bins and recycled instead.

“We have tried to make it as easy as possible to recycle old clothes and we are encouraging residents to take advantage of this new service and recycle as much as they can.

“This new service will not only be better for the environment but will help us reduce the amount we spend on disposing of our general rubbish. All old clothes and textiles will be either reused or shredded and made into new products such as filling for mattresses, furniture and car seats.”