In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, NMMC, in collaboration with the Ministry of Textiles, has launched an innovative project to manage and recycle post-consumer clothing.

The initiative aims to address the growing issue of textile waste reaching solid waste management.

India generates 7,793 kilotonnes of textile waste annually of which around 34% or 1,347 kilotonnes of post-consumer textile waste, ends up in landfills. Discarded clothes in landfills pose significant environmental problems, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, pollution of soil and water. Synthetic fibers, in particular, take hundreds of years to decompose

“The initiative will help reduce the burden of waste reaching solid waste management sites.  Second, the collected waste textiles will be converted into valuable products while promoting sustainable employment opportunities, especially for women artisans and help in creating new livelihood opportunities for women”, said Dr Kalias Shinde, commissioner, NMMC.

“As part of the initiative, in the first phase, 250 societies under NMMC will have dedicated cloth collection boxes for residents to donate their used garments. As of now, 49 separate boxes have been installed in 47 societies, with additional placements to follow in phases”, he added.

To facilitate collection, a dedicated vehicle has been arranged to transport donated clothes from 3R centres and participating societies.  

A waste clothes processing centre has been set up at Shakuntala Mahajan Multipurpose Building, Sector 2, CBD Belapur, where the collected garments will be sorted and processed. With support from the Tisser Artisan Trust, usable clothing will be upcycled using handlooms to create new products. These upcycled items will be sold in the market, generating sustainable employment for women’s self-help groups.

This initiative is being implemented in collaboration between the Ministry Of Textiles, NMMC, SBI Foundation Ltd., IDH India Hub Pvt. Ltd., and Tisser Artisan Trust.