Setting up a truck at the Tsawwassen Sun Festival, Aug. 1, gave a new lease on life to hundreds of kilograms of old clothes that 505-Junk usually diverts from the dump.
Thanks to donors who brought in their old sweatshirts, hats, shoes, ski wear and sporting goods, about 900 kg were collected. Those in turn were given to the Salvation Army where they will be sold in its thrift stores with profits going to fund community projects.
505-Junk also kicked in another $200 to the Rotary Club of Tsawwassen, based on the amount of clothing collected.
505-Junk CEO Barry Hartman said it was nice to get donations of shoes, as people are often looking for footwear.
“It was a nice event that tied in with the festival and allowed the company to get out the message of upcycling and recycling clothing and to explain that what might be considered garbage by some, is useable to someone else,” he added.
The company also minimizes clothing waste when it’s doing its regular pickups from homes.
If someone hires them to haul away household junk, 505-Junk will also haul away for free any clothes the homeowner wants removed. The owner just bags the old clothes, 505-Junk hauls it away and puts into storage and when there’s enough, it’s also taken to the Salvation Army.
It’s nice to have a way of recycling large volumes of clothes, Hartman said. Any clothes that are not usable are sorted and sent off for textile recycling by the Salvation Army.
He added his company wants to keep as much out of the landfill as possible.
