Recycling 13,000 lbs of clothing in Northern California

Chandra Hansen spoke to Joaquin Almaguer in Union City about his efforts to recycle clothing and help the local community:

Q:  What made you decide to do something this ambitious? How did you get involved?

A:  I felt it was the least we can do to help the environment since the world is so big. It all started last year with our Earth Day project. It went so well with the Associates’ participation that we decided to continue with the project until we reach the goal of collecting 500,000 pounds. We plan on accomplishing this goal not only with the help from our associates, but also with the help from our entire community.

Q:  What organizations are benefitting from the clothes you are collecting?

A:  The gently used clothing is being picked up by 7^th Generation Recycling and sent to the local secondhand clothing stores, as well as third world nations. By using 7^th Generation Recycling we are able to reduce the amount of waste in our community landfills and help those who are less fortunate.

Q:  How do the associates seem to be reacting to this challenge?

A:  The Associates are responding very well to the challenge, as is the community. Since Earth Day 2010, we have been able to collect over 13,980 pounds.

Q:  When do you expect to hit the 500,000 lbs goal?

A:  I’m hoping we can reach our goal by the time I retire, in about 8 to 10 years from now.

Joaquin A, Sara T, and Jade Y collect clothing in Union City. We now have two recycling bins just for clothing!