Textile Waste Diversion Inc.

Seneca’s School of Fashion has partnered with leading textile reclamation company, Textile Waste Diversion (TWD), on a research project with the goal of reducing the mounds of unwanted clothing that currently ends up in municipal landfills.

WireService.ca Media Release (01/24/2020) Toronto, ON – TWD is an industry leader, an Ontario-based textile reclamation company working in innovative ways to set new standards for the industry. An integral part of the company’s mission is to assist municipalities in reaching zero waste goals around textile waste.

Currently, 85 per cent of all unwanted clothing ends up in municipal landfills – which produces greenhouse gases, contributing to climate change. With this research project, TWD and Seneca aim to address this challenge and take advantage of opportunities to shift consumer clothing disposal behaviour.

“TWD is honoured to be selected as Seneca’s partner in such an important initiative,” said TWD’s Vice President of Development, Daniela Siggia. “We are confident this program will not only help in carbon reduction, but also provide us valuable information that is sure to impact future sector development.”

Seneca’s Applied Research Fund is funding the project, which will be conducted at Seneca’s Newnham Campus. The project will make an immediate difference in the diversion of textile wastes on campus and the study is also expected to provide new information about the influence of education, examining how a social marketing campaign can change a student’s attitude and behaviours in regards to textile waste diversion. The data will be used to develop new and better textile diversion methods with study results used to support the development and enhancement of related guidelines, activities, and curriculum at Seneca.

“We created this project because our students love fashion,” said Sabine Weber, Seneca Faculty member and lead researcher on the project. “If people love a garment but don’t have use for it anymore, they should find it a new home that isn’t in a landfill. We hope this project will help to teach people about the importance of textile recycling and help people think twice before throwing textiles in the garbage.”

A Newnham campus-wide survey will be conducted as part of the research to learn about existing student attitudes and behaviours towards textile diversion. Other project initiatives include:

Textile waste collection bins will be set up around campus with TWD monitoring the bins and assessing the quality and quantity of the articles. This data will be analyzed with consideration given to expansion of the collection initiative.
A swap event that would offer students in the School of Fashion’s Applied Marketing course an opportunity to explore effects on pricing.
A student-run textile waste management group will be initiated and will help to develop activities and events related to textile waste diversion in order to raise awareness and education.

“This project is one of several sustainability focused initiatives that the School of Fashion is involved with,” said Gitte Hansen, Chair, Seneca’s School of Fashion. “They are part of a larger effort to promote and embed sustainability in the Seneca cultureand the values and learnings we impart on our students.”

ABOUT TWD

Textile Waste Diversion is a family-owned and operated recycling company. They are leading the way in the textile waste diversion industry, building a community driven, green future. TWD supports textile recycling industry regulation and employee development. They are dedicated to setting a new standard for the industry. TWD also helps to raise media and public sector awareness of the positive environmental impact and economic potential the textile recycling industry offers local communities.

ABOUT SENECA

With campuses in Toronto, York Region and Peterborough, Seneca offers degrees, diplomas, certificates and graduate programs renowned for their quality and respected by employers. It is one of the largest comprehensive colleges in Canada, offering nearly 300 full-time, part-time and online programs. Combining the highest academic standards with work-integrated and applied learning, expert teaching faculty and the latest technology ensure Seneca graduates are career-ready.

Find out more at senecacollege.ca
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For media inquiries and images please contact:

Emily Milic
Seneca Media Relations
416-491-5050 ext. 77018
[email protected]

To arrange an interview with Daniela Siggia of Textile Waste Diversion, contact publicist Tracy Lamourie of LamouriePublic Relations at [email protected].

The Town of Aurora, together with The Regional Municipality of York and Textile Waste Diversion, will continue its innovative project to divert textiles from landfill by expanding door-to-door textile collection to all single-family households in Aurora. The pilot,which began in 2020, collected more than 23 tonnes of textiles from 3,000 homes.

WireService.ca Press Release (01/10/2020) – Effective Monday, February 6, residents of Aurora can contribute cloth items and home décor of any kind including clothing, curtains, towels and bedsheets. Gently worn and reusable items are welcome, as well as any clean, dry and odourless items. This includes ripped or damaged textiles which can be recycled, plus items such as purses, eyeglasses and single shoes. Textiles and housewares must be placed in plastic bags marked clearly with a “T” or items will not be collected. Collection will continue to take place the first Monday of each month throughout 2020.

“We have learned so much in the first six months of this pilot study, and are quite pleased with its progress. We are very happy that Aurora decided to expand the pilot and we look forward to helping Aurora residents have an organized and decluttered 2020.” says Daniela Siggia, VP Development for TWD.

Any material collected through this program will be sorted and processed through a local facility and either re-sold, re-used or recycled. Proceeds from this collection will be used to support diversion programs for residents of the Town of Aurora.

In addition to the monthly door-to-door collection efforts taking place, four used clothing bins have been made available to Aurora residents. For locations of the collection bins, a list of accepted items in the door-to-door collection and all upcoming collection dates, please visit aurora.ca/clothingrecycling

Plans for collection at multi-residential buildings are underway but will not be included in the door-to-door pick-ups.

For additional information, please visit aurora.ca/clothingrecycling or ontariotextilerecycling.com

Questions or comments?

Please contact the Town of Aurora’s Waste and Recycling Coordinator at 905-727-3123 x. 3447

To arrange an interview with Textile Waste Diversion please contact:

Publicist Tracy Lamourie
Lamourie Public Relations
[email protected]

or:

Daniela Siggia
VP Development
www.TextileWasteDiversion.com
(888) 980-8756
[email protected]