Recycling earns money for schools
By Angela Greiner Contributing Writer

Marlborough - Have you ever wondered what to do with the pile of clothes that are too worn to donate? The Marlborough Recycling Center off ers residents the perfect solution: getting rid of the pile and earning the school district money at the same time.

The resident recycling drop-off facility houses a trailer that accepts textiles and shoes during regular business hours. The facility is free and open to the public throughout the year. Bay State Textiles takes the items and pays the city a fee of $30 per ton of recycled textile items.

Last year, the center raised $1,100, which was donated to the Marlborough Public School System. The program was so successful that the Recycling Committee is hoping to add a second and possibly a third location to make it more convenient for residents to drop off their used items.

Recycled clothes have many uses: some of the clothes are sent to third-world countries to cloth the poor; wool and cashmeres are broken down into raw fibers to create new clothes; other textiles become polishing cloths, or are chopped into fibers called Shoddy for use in mattresses, home insulation, roughage for cattle, aeronautics and to strengthen plastics.

Shoes are also recycled and if they are not in good enough condition to be reused then the athletic shoes are made into playground padding and other types of shoes are taken apart and the individual materials are reused.

Bay State Textiles will take all forms of textiles, including sheets, towels, clothing, bed spreads and curtains regardless of the state of the material. All clothing should be washed and dried before being donated; items should not be wet, mildewed or smoke-damaged. The center does not accept toys or household goods.

The Recycling Center is currently planning a textile recycling awareness day Thursday Nov. 15.

For more information about recycling or other green-friendly issues, visit www.greenmarlborough. org or visit the Recycling Center's Web site through the city's Web site at www. MArlborough-ma.gov.