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t C R1 iver REQUEST FOR ACTION To Item Number City Council 6.1. Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by Community Development November 19, 2007 Nicki Blake - Bradley, Environmental Technician Item Description Reviewed by Consider Use Again Clothing Recycling Program Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator Reviewed by Lori Johnson, City Admirusttator Action Requested Consider for approval, placement of bins on city property locations with high visibility and traffic for clothing, textiles, and shoe collection by a recycling firm located in Roseville called U'SAgain. Potential sites include: City Hall campus, Parks and Recreation facilities (senior center, ice arena, recreation facility), and the Municipal Liquor Stores. Background/Discussion Clothing, shoes, and textiles have an outlet for re -use in charitable organizations such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army (for example). However, there aren't many outlets for those items which may be too stained or full of holes to be wanted or used by other people. The EPA has stated that 15% of textiles are diverted from landfills annually. This means that 85% of textile wastes are being landfilled (or incinerated). Many textile materials that charitable organizations have received have actually been refused or rejected, meaning that they most likely have also have trade their way to area landfills. Energy City has established goals surrounding waste reduction, energy and water conservation. Recycling is one method that, very simply, saves energy and water while reducing waste. It takes far less energy to recycle an item than to create the some piece from raw materials. By implementing this program, the City will be taking an active step toward helping to meet the established conservation and waste reduction goals. U'SAgain is a commercial company that specializes in recycling and /or reusing shoe and textile materials to reduce the amount of waste generated in an area and to increase the amount of recycling (and therefore energy conservation) at the same time. This company accepts clean, dry items in any condition. The usable items are sorted from the recyclable items and sold to thrift stores throughout the nation (and perhaps internationally), while the others are sold to textile recyclers where they will be shredded and made into a vatiety of useful items such as seat cushions (boat, chair, etc). While Goodwill and Salvation Army may see U'SAgain as a competitor, they could also benefit from the U'SAgain bins in several ways. They may begin receiving higher quality clothing or have to reject less items since there will be an additional outlet for "damaged" goods. Another way the non - profits may benefit from U'SAgain is that they, themselves, could use the bins for disposal of textiles and shoes which cannot be sold... thereby reducing their waste stream and decreasing disposal fees. C: \Dm..e.M and Settingx \imdlee \Local Suttinbm \Tmporaty tntema Piles \DIME \Action Requnted- USAyttin.doc