Have an old sweater or a pair of jeans you don’t want anymore? Don’t just throw it out — donate it during the Cornwall Give-A-Shirt campaign instead!
The Fall 2022 campaign, which invites residents to donate gently used clothing, bedding, and shoes, is taking place from October 17 to October 21. The donations are then brought to the Agape Centre’s New For You, Baldwin House’s Serendipity Boutique, and the Salvation Army thrift store.
When these local stores are no longer able to accept donations, leftovers will be brought to Value Village and any other thrift stores in Eastern Ontario that can accept clothes.
To participate, simply collect the items you want to donate, bag them, and then place a sign on the bag that states: “Give a Shirt”.
Items that are torn, stained or not reusable, please label the bag as “clothes for recycling”. Place your bag (s) out on your regular collection day, a few feet away from your garbage and recycling.
Since the start of the Cornwall Gives-A-Shirt campaign five years ago, Cornwall residents have donated a staggering amount of textile waste — 45,380kgs to be exact!
“Every piece of clothing we pick up over the week is kept out of our landfill,” said Dave Kuhn, Waste Management Supervisor. “Participating on the Give a Shirt campaign ultimately helps to extend the life of our Landfill Site which has approximately 10 years remaining.”
During the Spring event, residents diverted a total of 5.58 tonnes (5,580Kgs) of clothing, bedding, and shoes from the Cornwall landfill.
The goal of Cornwall Gives-A-Shirt is to keep clothing waste out of the landfill. Textiles can be reused — sold in thrift stores — or recycled, to be made into new materials.
For the fall collection, city residents are asked to donate fall and winter items.
To avoid generating textile waste, consider shopping at thrift stores and vintage clothing stores (in addition to those we’ve listed earlier, used clothing can be purchased locally at Echo Trends and DG Vintage).
Instead of buying three pairs of low-quality pants, consider choosing one higher-quality pair that will last longer and avoiding fast fashion – clothing that will wear out quickly.
In case you missed your pick-up or have additional clothing or textiles you wish to donate, there is a textile donation bin located at the City of Cornwall Landfill Site where you may drop-off donations or textiles for recycling during operating hours.
For more information, contact the City of Cornwall’s Waste Management Supervisor Dave Kuhn at dkuhn@cornwall.ca or call 613-930-2787 ext. 2589
