Waste characterization studies performed for California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and subsequently for CalRecycle for the period from 1999 to 2008 established that the volume of cast away or thrown out textile materials as residential waste into the landfills has increased in volumes and produce methane and other green house gases, thus harming the environment.
Campus California Collection Van
The study found that the disposed off textile waste from 330,000 t in 1999 has grown to around 506,000 t in 2008, an increase of around 53%. The volume of discarded textiles from the residential segment during the period grew from 2.4% to 4.2%, an increase of 75% though the population had increased by only 10%. More scientific studies performed in a number of cities all over the country have shown a similar trend and necessitated a suitable textile recycling program that will bring down the quantity of textile products filling the landfills. Unlike other reusable products such as plastic or glass, recycling of textiles is difficult because they quickly get damaged or soiled during the normal collection and segregation process and prevent any further use.
In order to prevent the textiles from reaching the landfills along with other waste materials and use them productively, not-for-profit organizations such as Campus California have introduced cloth collection programs by maintaining cloth collection boxes at various places. Campus California collects the unwanted but usable textiles deposited in the boxes cleans and sells them to utilize proceeds for its various training programs. From the beginning of its program in 2003, the organization has gathered and donated over 10,000 t of clothing. It has opened its new cloth collection center in Phoenix Metro area in Arizona in April 2011.