Sorting waste. From January 1, a new waste fraction will appear

According to Prawa.pl, used clothes and shoes today usually end up in mixed waste bins. Only a small part of them is collected and reused by charitable organizations or processed into cleaning cloths (a material used in industrial establishments and service workshops to clean heavy dirt with grease, oil, paint , etc., recycled rags are used for this purpose). The rest is usually burned. Prawa.pl reminds that a few years ago the EU decided that this needed to be changed and adopted Directive 2018/81 on May 30, 2018, amending the Waste Framework Directive 2008. It set the zero hour for used clothes in 2025. – This waste does not have to be collected from residents’ homes. Although the commune can, of course, expand the fractions collected “at the source”. But I don’t know of a commune that would make such an extension. The obligation to collect clothes is a separate result of the Act of 13 September 1996 on maintaining cleanliness and order in towns – points out Mateusz Karciarz, a lawyer from the law firm Zygmunt Jerzmanowski i Wspólnicy, in Prawa.pl.

Currently, this waste is accepted at selective municipal waste collection centers (PSZOK). Many cities have for a long time included in their regulations that residents must collect clothing separately. This does not mean, however, that these rules are followed diligently. Today, as Karol Wójcik, chairman of the City Chamber of Commerce Program Council, says on the website Prawa.pl, tracking numbers of clothes or shoes are sent to PSZOK, most of them ending up in mixed waste.

– So what will a resident who is far from PSZOK have to do after January 1, 2025? – the surprise of the authors of Prawo.pl. In many places, collections are led by charity organizations, some send out containers for clothes, others announce a collection of clothes from homes, valuable clothes are collected in shopping centers and workplaces. However, a less valuable one can be a problem. Residents cannot count on systematic collection from their homes. – No need to go for one blouse. If the municipalities want it, of course we can provide such a collection. But they would commit economic suicide if they collected clothes with the same frequency as other municipal waste fractions – the cost is too high. It’s not necessary, just ask yourself how often you clean your wardrobe. However, I see the sense in collecting them, as in the case of measurements, for example 2-3 times a year – concludes Karol Wójcik in Prawa.pl.