More and more people are bringing their worn or unused textiles to collection points, container parks or thrift stores. While OVAM collected an average of 6.22 kilograms per inhabitant in 2022, that figure increased to 6.57 kilograms in 2023 and even to 6.86 kilograms per inhabitant in 2024. That is good news, says the waste company, because every piece of textile that is reused or recycled saves raw materials, energy and CO2 emissions.
Sold in thrift stores
Sales of second-hand clothing in thrift stores are also on the rise, with an increase of 32 percent in one year. In 2024, the sector sold 4,792 tons of second-hand textiles. It proves that reuse is becoming increasingly common among Flemish people and that second-hand clothing is definitely out of the question, says OVAM.
Quality decreases
Still, there remains work to be done, he adds. After all, a significant part of the textile still ends up as residual waste. “We see that the quantity is increasing, but the quality is decreasing,” says Werner Annaert, Administrator General of OVAM. “Cheap, quickly produced clothing makes it more difficult to reuse or recycle collected textiles. As a result, some of the collected textiles still end up as a low-quality fraction or even as residual waste.”