By the Bronxville Green Committee

March 13, 2024: The Village of Bronxville is offering a new service to residents—home pickup of textiles for reuse and recycling!

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), New Yorkers throw away more than 1.4 billion pounds of clothing and textiles each year, a number that continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  Of all unwanted textiles, approximately 85% is thrown away; less than 15% is donated for reuse or recycling. 

In partnership with Westchester County, Bronxville can help turn around those statistics. The Village has signed a contract with HELPSY, a for-profit B Corp whose mission is to keep clothing, accessories, and other linens out of landfills and incinerators. 

This service benefits our Village, residents, and the environment! 

-The service is free to residents and provides a financial benefit to the Village—HELPSY will pay Bronxville for what it collects!

-It’s easy – just fill out THIS FORM to arrange for home pickup of textiles on Saturdays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m..

-It will reduce the amount of trash our DPW picks up, lowering the tipping fees the Village pays to haul our solid waste to the incinerator in Peekskill.

-Like many collection agencies, HELPSY raises money by selling the high-quality clothing it collects to secondhand stores and online resellers. What makes HELPSY unique is that the textiles it can’t sell, it RECYCLES!

Items HELPSY accepts include:

Footwear (in pairs)

Clothing: Tops (T-shirts, blouses, shirts, tank tops), Sweaters, Sweatshirts, Dresses, Outerwear (coats, jackets, blazers), Bottoms (pants, slacks, jeans, sweatpants, skirts, shorts) Suits, Socks, Pajamas, Slips, Bras, Underwear,

Accessories: Hats, Bags (pocketbooks, backpacks, duffle bags, totes), Belts, Gloves, Ties, Scarves, Bathrobes,

Linens: Sheets, Blankets, Towels, Curtains/Drapes, Aprons, Dish cloths, Cloth napkins, Table linens, Comforters, Throw rugs, Placemats

Other: Halloween costumes, Sports jerseys, Pet clothing, Textile scraps greater than (1’x1’), Canvas

The items need to be in a waterproof bag near your front door before 7 a.m. of the pickup day.

Producing the clothing we wear has a huge environmental impact—and then, all too quickly, we routinely throw it away, where it does even more damage in landfills or incineration facilities.  We can do better by buying fewer clothes, choosing items of higher quality, taking time to repair minor flaws, and donating for reuse or recycling the clothing we can no longer use. Refuse, reuse, and recycle are our mantras for reducing the costs and pollution associated with disposing of solid waste.

Please also consider these other services for residents which make Bronxville more sustainable

-Food Scrap Recycling is a win-win for residents and the Village.  Since the program’s launch in December 2021, we have collected 80 tons of food scraps, which were taken to a commercial composting facility and turned into organically rich compost.  The Village pays less to haul food scraps than to haul trash.  Your participation reduces greenhouse gas emissions associated with placing food scraps in landfills or incinerators while completing a natural cycle in which food scraps become a soil amendment in which to grow more food. Food Scrap Recycling has impact!  Learn more HERE.

-On TAKE BACK DAY, the Village saves residents a trip to the Household Material Recovery Facility (H-MRF) in Valhalla by offering collection of hard-to-dispose-of items such as electronics (computers, laptops, TVs, cell phones, cords, DVD players, etc.), sensitive documents for shredding, and various other items.  Mark your calendars now for the next TAKE BACK DAY on Saturday June 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and start filling your donation box.

-By New York State law, all large retail stores must provide bins for collecting film plastic for recycling. Acme in Bronxville has a bin right outside the exit door. Here’s another way to reduce your trash—deposit your bread bags, newspaper sleeves, dry cleaner bags, cling wrap, air pillows, and other film (not crinkly) plastic. Learn more HERE.

Many thanks to Bronxville’s Trustees for making textile donation easier than ever, and for supporting our goal of reaching Zero Waste!

The Bronxville Green Committee is a volunteer organization that is part of the Village of Bronxville. We work to propose and implement environmentally sustainable programs in our community. Visit our website to learn more. Please consider joining our efforts!