43,000 tonnes of textiles reach end of life across the Hunter each year with almost three-quarters ending up in landfill.

Addressing challenges like this is a key part of the Hunter Joint Organisation’s commitment to advancing waste reduction and the circular economy across the region.

As part of the Hunter Circular Value Chain Solutions Project, funded through the NSW EPA’s Local Government Waste Solutions program, Hunter JO recently partnered with nuLoop to bring together councils, industry, charities, textile recyclers and other key stakeholders for a regional textiles workshop.

Over 30 professionals across councils, health, community research and existing textile recyclers joined this workshop to explore the current textile landscape in the Hunter and across Australia. Insights were shared from industry leaders including Ainsley Simpson CEO of Seamless, Adrian Jones cofounder of BlockTexx, Turab Bank from e-Thread and Meriel Chamberlin from The Salvation Army. Discussions focused on opportunities to improve textile collection, sorting, reuse and recycling, and what is needed to keep more valuable materials in circulation.

Importantly, participants worked together to identify practical collaboration opportunities and potential pilot projects that can help reduce textile waste, build local circular economy outcomes and divert more materials from landfill.

Thank you to everyone who shared their expertise, ideas and enthusiasm. We look forward to working with our partners to turn these conversations into action.