Commercial Laundry: Rodrigo Patron, Lace House Linen, Petaluma, Calif.
The industrial laundry industry is crucial for providing essential services to various sectors, such as hospitality and healthcare. However, it faces challenges related to textile waste.
With large quantities of linens, uniforms and other textiles processed daily, there is a pressing need to address the environmental impact of discarded materials.
Fortunately, there are opportunities for sustainable solutions tailored to the unique operations of each plant.
One way to reduce textile waste is using dyeing techniques to repurpose old or stained aprons, tablecloths or mats by dyeing them black. This helps to conceal stains or imperfections and extends the lifespan of the items.
By incorporating this approach into your laundering process, you can minimize the volume of textiles destined for disposal while maintaining good quality standards and giving new life to old garments that would typically be discarded.
You can do this in-house or outsource this service to companies that specialize in textile dyeing.
Additionally, repurposing textiles in socially impactful ways is a viable option. This can range from donating unused or damaged terry or garments to a local shelter to sending white sheets to countries like India for cremation rituals.
By being resourceful and thinking outside the box, you will find numerous options to repurpose unused linen, address waste issues and maybe even contribute to noble causes.
Repurposing textiles as rags offers a practical and sustainable solution for industrial cleaning purposes. Instead of throwing away worn-out linens, these materials can be turned into cleaning cloths, which reduces the need for single-use disposable products for painters, mechanics, or cleaning companies.
Incorporating rag production into your laundry operation not only minimizes waste but also has the potential to generate revenue.
It’s important to remember that while these initiatives offer promising ways to reduce waste, it’s crucial to consider solutions that are tailored to the specific needs and capabilities of each laundry plant.
What works for one plant may not be feasible for another, so it’s essential to implement strategies that align with your operational realities.
Unfortunately, textile waste is a very real and significant challenge for our industry, but it also presents opportunities for positive change.
Whether you dye your mats and garments black or explore socially impactful repurposing initiatives, the key is to adopt a solution that is practical and feasible to the specific needs of your plant.
Textile/Uniform Rental: W. Kirby Wagg, Performance Matters, Sarasota, Fla.
The textile rental industry faces a growing concern over textile waste as sustainability becomes an increasingly important issue.
Recycling and reusing aged-out textiles offer significant opportunities for reducing waste and promoting environmental responsibility.
Several innovative approaches and future developments are emerging, paving the way for a more sustainable industry.
In my over 45 years in this industry at Wagg’s Uniform Services in North Toronto, we were successful with our initiatives—aged-out textiles were repurposed into new products, extending their lifecycle.
For instance, we transformed old linens and uniforms into cleaning cloths, industrial rags and insulation materials. This not only diverted waste from landfills but also created new revenue streams for us.
We collaborated with specialized textile recycling companies to ensure that aged-out textiles were processed and repurposed efficiently. These firms had the technology and expertise to break down fabrics and recycle fibers into new materials for various industries.
At Wagg’s, we donated to charitable organizations. Hospitals, homeless shelters and disaster relief agencies all benefitted from these donations, helping our local community in need while reducing waste.
The healthcare sector presents a significant opportunity for textile recycling. In a recent interview with Randy and Brian Bartsch of Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service, they explained that Canada is leading the way in the use of reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals and clinics.
Canadian hospitals have adopted reusable linens and gowns extensively, in stark contrast to the U.S., where approximately 80% of isolation gowns are single-use disposables. This difference is largely due to Canada’s strong public focus on waste reduction and environmental responsibility.
The disparity in reusable PPE adoption between Canada and the U.S. reflects broader public attitudes toward waste and environmental issues.
In Canada, there is a strong emphasis on sustainability and reducing waste, which has driven the healthcare sector to embrace reusable textiles.
Conversely, the U.S. market has been heavily influenced by aggressive marketing from disposable PPE manufacturers and a polarized public discourse on environmental policies and climate change.
The textile rental industry has a crucial role in addressing textile waste through innovative recycling and reuse strategies. By leveraging current opportunities and embracing future developments, the industry can significantly reduce its environmental footprint.
Learning from Canada’s success with reusable PPE can provide valuable insights and inspiration.
As public awareness and demand for sustainable practices continue to grow, the textile rental industry must adapt and lead the way in creating a more sustainable future.
Equipment Manufacturing: Chuck Anderson, Chicago Dryer Company, San Diego, Calif.
There are several opportunities to recycle or reuse aged-out textiles; however, finding the resources to aid in this endeavor can be challenging depending on the city or state you do business in.
In my view, circularity for textiles is not where it needs to be and is hard to scale for many reasons.
Europe seems to be much further along in textile recycling technologies and efforts than the U.S.
Repurposing terry products into cleaning cloths is the easiest and most cost-effective way to recycle textiles. One such company, Coachella Valley Rags, collects aged-out or stained terry towels from hotels and commercial laundries and then cuts and sews these discards into high-quality cleaning rags sold back to hotels.
CIMA Color Solutions Inc. is another great resource in our industry that takes stained or faded linens, aprons, and mats and uses an over-dye technology with high-pressure dying machines to bring them back to life.
New emerging technologies can separate cotton from polyester, allowing the extracted cotton to be respun into new fiber and the polyester further separated into primary chemicals needed to make new polyester fibers.
Charitable donations are another way to reuse textiles. Check with your local charities, rehabilitation centers, and animal shelters to see which might accept used textiles.
Start a grading system where aged-out textiles can be sold or rented at discounted prices for other uses or where front-of-house textiles can become back-of-house items when the time comes.
In closing, I would like to say that prevention can slow the need to recycle. Having a solid wash and rewash/stain program can help.
Also, educating our employees and end-users on handling and care of the rented or owed textiles can go a long way in our efforts to slow textile waste.
Click HERE to read Part 1 with advice from hotel/motel/resort laundry, healthcare laundry, distribution and uniform/workwear manufacturing experts.
Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Matt Poe at [email protected].
