Petition · past parliament · Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Require councils to collect textile waste as part of household recycling

Closed 287 signatures

What the petition asks

Around 360,000 Tonnes of clothes are thrown away in the UK every year. Waste is a feedstock which recyclers are finding hard to get access to. We believe adding textiles to household recycling will be both an environmentally friendly and a good commercial decision for the long run.
Textile Recycling has come a long way since Household Recycling Act was passed in 2003. The advent of AI has made it increasingly cheaper to sort out waste; and mechanical and chemical recycling facilities allow textile to be turned back into raw fibre form to be reused.

If the UK is to reach its Net-Zero targets then legislation around textile waste has to be part of the mix.

Timeline

16 Feb 2023 Petition opened for signatures
16 Aug 2023 Closed to new signatures

Key facts

Signatures 287
Status Closed
Department Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Opened 16 Feb 2023
Closed 16 Aug 2023

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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.