Trainee Waste Education Support Officer Keagan Elam and Resource Recovery Facilities Manager Andrea Baldwin with a Textile Recycling Drop-off point which are now available at Gregadoo Waste Management Centre and rural transfer stations. Photo: Wagga Wagga City Council.
Wagga residents have a new place to take old clothes, shoes, towels and other textiles that are too worn out to donate to an op shop – and it won’t cost them anything.
Wagga Wagga City Council has made textile recycling a permanent service at the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre, with collection points also established at seven rural transfer stations.
The service is aimed at the awkward category of household rubbish that has traditionally had few options: clothing that is no longer good enough for a charity shop but doesn’t really belong in the recycling bin.
Until now, residents have largely had to rely on charity shops and clothing bins for unwanted clothes, even when the material was too worn to be sold.
Resource Recovery Facilities Manager Andrea Baldwin said the dedicated textile recycling drop-off service aimed to reduce pressure on local charities by giving residents another option to responsibly dispose of items that had reached the end of their useful life.
“Accepted items include clothing, shoes, linen, blankets, towels, and other clean household items,” Ms Baldwin said.
“The textiles we collect will be sorted, with items in good condition to be donated for resale. Items that cannot be worn will be taken by a textile recycling contractor and repurposed as cleaning rags or recycled into new products such as rugs and floormats.”
Textile recycling is accepted for free through the waste transfer station at GWMC which is open seven days a week.
Many other recyclable household items can be dropped off for free, including batteries, polystyrene, soft plastics, e-waste, small appliances and more.
Unwanted textiles can be dropped off at Gregadoo Waste Management Centre and rural transfer stations where they will be taken and recycled.
Council trialled textile recycling at Gregadoo in 2025, collecting about one tonne in just five days.
The new permanent service means those textiles can now be diverted from landfill instead.
According to Wagga Council, almost 99,000 tonnes of clothing are donated to NSW charities each year, but only about 15 per cent is suitable for resale through shopfronts.
A further 13,844 tonnes of donated material end up in landfill. Items left beside charity bins are unlikely to be reused or recycled, particularly if they become wet and damaged.
Accepted textiles
- Clothing
- Shoes
- Linen
- Blankets
- Towels
- Belts and handbags
- Other clean household textiles
Not accepted
- Doonas, pillows and cushions
- Electric blankets and wearable electronics
- Large bags, mats or carpet
- Soft toys and textile offcuts
- Wet or damp items
The collection points are at Gregadoo, Mangoplah, Collingullie, Currawarna, Galore, Humula, Tarcutta and Uranquinty.
