#RecycleRightNY Campaign Materials

April is dedicated to textiles recycling. Please use the resources below (Facebook posts, Twitter tweets, social media polls, newsletter article, images) through the month of April via your social media platforms, newsletters, etc. to spread the message. The post order is a suggested format to follow but please modify the order for the month as necessary to fit your needs.

Please note that high resolution images formatted for Facebook, Twitter, and newsletters can be downloaded by going to NYDEC's Recycle Right NY Flickr album. For instructions, scroll down to the heading "Free images" below. To download any images from the body of this email, right click the image and then choose "Save As".

Week 1 Campaign Materials

Social Media Polls

Facebook Poll: Should you put clothing and other textiles in with your regular household recycling (bottles, cans, paper, plastic, etc.)?

Yes
No
 

Twitter Poll: Should you put clothing and other textiles in with your regular household recycling (bottles, cans, paper, plastic, etc.)?

Yes
No
 

Poll answer for both Facebook and Twitter: No, recycling facilities that handle your household recycling are not designed to handle these items, but they are recyclable through special programs. Follow along this month to learn proper recycling methods for your textiles & for more info visit http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/100141.html !

(insert link to your local program information if available)

Facebook Post: Let’s #RecycleRightNY! Although recyclable, clothing and other textiles like sheets, curtains and blankets should not be put in with your regular household recycling. These items become wrapped around recycling facility equipment, which costs time, money and can harm workers. However, many special programs do exist for both reuse and recycling if the textiles are clean, dry and odorless. Check with your local municipality or recycling coordinator to learn more and visit http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn .

(links can be changed to link to your local programs)

Twitter Tweet: Let’s #RecycleRightNY! Clothing & other textiles should not be put in regular household recycling bins. Many alternate programs exist for textile reuse & recycling if items are clean, dry and odorless. Learn more here: http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn

Week 2 Campaign Materials

Facebook Post: Doing some Spring cleaning? Step #1: Help make sure clothing and other textiles are reused or find a second life as insulation, carpet padding, and more - don’t put them in your regular recycling bin. Check with your local municipality or recycling coordinator to learn more about alternate textile recycling methods in your area. #RecycleRightNY

Twitter Tweet: Spring cleaning? Help make sure clothing and other textiles find a second life - don’t put them in your regular recycling bin. Check with your local municipality or recycling coordinator to learn more about alternate textile recycling methods in your area. #RecycleRightNY

Week 3 Campaign Materials

Social Media Polls:

Facebook: Want to help create a greener future? Reuse and recycling of clothing and textiles using special programs is the equivalent of removing how many cars from America’s highways?

1.3 million
4.2 million
 

Twitter: Want to help create a greener future? Reuse and recycling of clothing and other textiles using special programs is the equivalent of removing how many cars from America’s highways?

750,000
1.3 million
3.8 million
5.6 million
 

Poll answer for both Facebook and Twitter: The answer is 1.3 million! However, textiles can’t be recycled if placed with your plastic, metal, glass and paper. Find proper textile reuse and recycling locations to make sure your find a new life: http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn #RecycleRightNY

Facebook Post: Help keep recycling facilities running smoothly! #DidYouKnow that textiles can be recycled but not in your regular household recycling bin? Learn more about textiles recycling and find a drop location near you today! http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn #RecycleRightNY

Twitter Tweet: Help keep recycling facilities running smoothly! DidYouKnow that textiles can be recycled but not in your regular household recycling bin? Learn more about textiles recycling and find a drop location near you today! http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn #RecycleRightNY

Week 4 Campaign Materials

Facebook Post: Let's all do our part to make #EarthDay every day and #RecycleRightNY. How? Avoid wishcycling! Don't put cloth items like clothing and other textiles in your regular recycling bin. These items become wrapped around recycling facility equipment, which costs time, money, and can harm workers. For more information on where to properly recycle textiles visit: http://bit.ly/2JS5RYn (insert link to your local program if available or use DEC link)

Twitter Tweet: Let's all do our part to make #EarthDay every day and #RecycleRightNY. How? Avoid wishcycling! Don't put items like clothing and other textiles in your regular recycling bin. These items become wrapped around recycling facility equipment, which costs money and can harm workers.

Week 5 Campaign Materials

Facebook Post: Friday May 3rd is National Textile Day! Don’t forget that textiles recycling helps keep valuable materials out of the waste stream, but these items should not be put in your regular household recycling bin. Check with your local municipality or recycling coordinator to learn more about alternate textile recycling methods in your area. #RecycleRightNY

Twitter Tweet: Friday May 3rd is National Textile Day! Let’s #RecycleRightNY! Textiles recycling keeps valuable materials out of the waste stream, but should not be put in your regular recycling bin. For more information visit: http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/100141.html

April Textiles Recycling Newsletter/ Newspaper Article

Title: Spring Cleaning - How to Properly Recycle Your Textiles

Is your closet giving you a headache? Don’t make it a headache for recycling facilities! As we welcome the Spring season and closet clean outs, we’d like to remind you to rethink your recycling habits. Tossing your unwanted clothing into your regular household recycling bin creates major issues for the recycling facilities that handle your usual plastic, metal, glass, and paper. When your clothing and other textiles are put in your regular household recycling bin, these items become wrapped around recycling facility equipment, causing expensive machinery jams and compromising worker safety. Not to mention- textiles cannot be recycled in these systems as they are designed to handle bottles, cans, paper, etc., not clothing. Clothing and other worn and torn textiles can be recycled but need to go to a specialized recycling facility with equipment designed for recycling textiles. As long as they are clean, dry and odorless, most textiles can be reused or recycled through specific donation and collection programs. Reused clothing is thrifted and goes to people in need. The items that are recycled are made into fiber for new products like carpet padding, home insulation, and raw material for the automotive industry. By participating in textiles recovery and recycling you’re helping to save natural resources, reduce greenhouse gases, prevent pollution, and reduce waste from entering landfills where it has no value. It’s also a way to help keep recycling facilities running smoothly and extend the life of valuable materials! Visit the NYDEC's webpage about textile reuse and recycling and the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling's Re-Clothe NY website for more information and to find reuse and recycling locations near you.

* paste direct links in if your outreach material is not in digital format.

Other Resources

• SMART textile recycling resources (including free downloadable infographics)
• NYSAR3 listing of acceptable materials
• The Recycling Partnership's Contamination Toolkit

Free Images

Free high resolution images formatted for Facebook, Twitter, and newsletters can be downloaded by going to NYDEC's Recycle Right NY Flickr album. *

Directions to download from Flickr: Click the link to open the Flickr album. Scroll to the image you want and left click on it. The image will now be brought up on the screen by itself. In the far right bottom corner there will be a downward facing arrow with a line under it. Left click on it and choose, Original (1024x512) as the option. It will automatically download.  If you need assistance please e-mail us at recycling@dec.ny.gov.

* If you are experiencing technical difficulties downloading the images from Flickr, please open the Flickr link in a different web browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

Recycle Right NY is a 12-month education campaign focused on supporting efforts to reduce contamination in household recycling programs across NYS. The campaign focuses on educating residents about one recycling topic per month. Campaign materials including monthly text and photos, as seen above, are available for use in your own social media and digital and print newsletters. For more information about the campaign or on how to get involved e-mail recycling@dec.ny.gov.