The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) provides free textile recycling services to:
- Apartment buildings with 10 or more units
- Office buildings
- Commercial industries (fashion and apparel businesses, storage facilities, gyms, laundromats, hotels)
- Schools, City agencies, and nonprofits
The following items are accepted through this service:
- Clothing
- Accessories (shoes, hats, bags, gloves)
- Household textiles (towels, curtains, bedding)
- Clean rags, ripped and damaged material
This service is provided in partnership with New York State Industries for the Disabled, Inc. (NYSID) and Helpsy.
After you apply for this service, Helpsy will determine the size and quantity of textile collection bins and where they should be placed in your building. They will deliver a stationary bin to your building to collect clothing, household textiles, and accessories, then empty the bins when they are full.
There are two types of bins:
- Small (2' deep x 4' wide x 6' high)
- Large (3.5' deep x 4' wide x 6' high)
Items collected through DSNY's textile recycling program are diverted from landfills. Collected items are sorted and reused through secondhand retailers or resold for reprocessing to make items such as cleaning rags, seat padding, and insulation.
