Textil

Clothing and textiles

First and foremost, try to mend, sew, sell at a flea market, or give away your clothing and textiles.

Look at your consumption habits in order to reduce clothing waste. Mend, tidy, and reuse existing garments. Old clothing can also be reused as cleaning cloths or weaving wefts.

Moreover, you can donate textiles and clothing to relief organisations, such as the Salvation Army, Star of Hope, Hope, and the Red Cross. Another good alternative is to rent a table at a flea market to sell off your clothes and other items. You can also ask local animal organisations, for instance Koiratarha Kulkuri or Kissatalo, if they need blankets, carpets, or towels as bedding for the animals.

Whole, clean, and usable clothing can be taken to clothing collection points that are available at all waste reception stations and at some Ecopoints. A map on UFF’s website shows the location of Ecopoints with collection boxes (in Finnish).

From 1.1.2023 end-of-life textiles can be recycled at all Stormossen’s waste reception stations, Minimossen and Mikromossen.

What Are End-of-Life Textiles?

End-of-life textiles are all dry, clean, and unusable clothing and household textiles, such as:

  • Jackets, trousers, skirts, and shirts
  • Linen, towels, and tablecloths

Clean sewing scraps, patches, and threads are also suitable for textile collection as long as they are packed in a separate plastic bag from other textiles.

Please note that textiles must be dry and tightly packed in plastic bags or sacks to prevent them from becoming dirty and wet. Be careful not to fill the bag completely, so that it fits better in the collection box for end-of-life textiles.

What Does Not Belong in Textile Recycling?

  • Underwear, socks, and pantyhose
  • Pillows, blankets, padding, and stuffed toys
  • Carpets
  • Bags, belts, shoes, and rainwear
  • Damp, mouldy, insect-infested, or strong-smelling textiles

Give away items that are in good shape and sort the rest as mixed waste (combustible waste). Thank you for sorting. Because it matters.

What happens to end-of-life textiles?

The textiles from Stormosssen’s operating area are sorted in an industrial hall at Lintuvuori. From there some of the textiles go to Minimossen and some to Westenergy’s incineration plant. Most of the textiles are transported to LSJH:s Green Field Hub where they are teared mechanically into recycled fiber, which can be used as raw material for new products.

 

All waste types