Illinois Recycling Association

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Textile Collection Company Kept 60 Million Pounds of Textiles Out of Landfills in 2011

USAgain Announces Annual Collection Figures

USAgain, a Chicago-based textile collection company, announced its annual collection figures.  In 2011 alone USAgain collected 60 million pounds of textiles for reuse and recycling around the globe.

Textile waste is a huge environmental issue.  According to the EPA, Americans discard approximately 13.1 million tons of textiles annually.  Only 15% of which is collected for reuse and recycling – leaving 11.2 million tons of textiles to be dumped in our nation’s landfills.

In 2011 USAgain kept 54.5 million items out of landfills, saving 342,857 cubic yards of landfill space and preventing 420,000,000 pounds of C02 from being released into the atmosphere.

“Everyday people throw away perfectly reusable and recyclable textiles, clothes and shoes because they don’t have a convenient option for recycling them,” said USAgain CEO Mattias Wallander. “It is our goal to prevent these items from being trashed and put them back in the use stream.”

USAgain, a green for-profit company, with over 10,000 drop-boxes located across 15 States, offers residents a convenient option for disposing unwanted clothing, shoes and other textiles.  The collected textiles are sold second-hand in the United States and around the globe.  Items that are not re-wearable are recycled into industrial wiping rags, furniture padding, insulation and more.  

To find a drop box near you visit: www.usagain.com

JOIN US FOR DESTINATION SUSTAINABILITY

The 2012 Illinois Recycling and Resource Management Conference & Trade Show will be held at the Clock Tower Hotel and Conference Center in Rockford on June 4-6 under the theme "Destination Sustainability".  The conference is hosted by IRA and SWANA-Land of Lincoln Chapter. Eric Lombardi, CEO of Ecocycle, will be the Keynote  Speaker.  We will joined by the Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA) and the Contruction Materials Recycling Association-Illinois Chapter (BMRA) for a special series of presentations on Tuesday June 5.  Prior to our conference, the Grass Roots Recycling Network (GRRN) will hold their National Zero Waste Action Conference on Sunday June 3.  Make plans now to attend this unique and exciting conference. 

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) is a Sustaining Sponsor of Destination Sustainability.

TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

During 2011, IRA has transitioned its membership cycle from renewal dates based on the month joined to the calendar year.  Throughout last year, renewal invoices were prorated to end on December 31.  In early December, current members were sent email notices for their 2012 memberships, which run from January 1 to December 31, 2012.  If you haven't already please take this time to renew your membership.  If you need a new invoice please call the office at 708-358-0050.  A Membership Application form can be used to mail in your payment or we can process your credit card over the phone.  Thank you for your support!

EXCELLENCE IN RECYCLING AWARD NOMINATIONS REQUESTED

We are requesting nominations for the 2012 Excellence in Recycling Awards, to be presented during the Illinois Recycling and Resource Management Conference & Trade Show, June 4-6, at the Clock Tower Hotel in Rockford Illinois. Please see the attached forms for more information.

2012 Awards Request for Nominations

2012 Awards Nomination Form

FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Welcome to the new and steadily improving IRA website and the first 2012 edition of Material Matters, IRA's electronic newsletter.  This site features an upgraded navigation menu to make information easier to find, online membership portal for new and renewing members, event registration site and more.  It is a work in progress but new features are being added virtually every day.  This site is developed in collaboration with Bob Hollis and The Mobius Network and hosted on wind powered servers.