From Trash to Transformation:
How Mosaic Resale Makes sure Every Donation Creates Lasting Change to our Community and Environment.
Mosaic Resale Store is known for transforming lives by giving unwanted items a new home. From Couches, to jewelry, every item donated to Mosaic helps support community programming and resources. But not every item donated makes it out on the Resale floor. What happens to items like a broken coffee pot or a torn pair of jeans, that can’t be sold or donated? Mosaic gives them a second life.
According to reports from the EPA, 16 million tons of textile waste are created by Americans each year. This includes items donated to resale stores, many of which get added to the 10 million tons of textiles sent to our landfills.
Paul Knapp, Mosaic’s Operations Director, walked up through the steps their Resale takes to reduce waste. “We really try to limit how much we're putting into the dumpster,” Paul explained. “A lot ends up getting recycled.”Mosaic ships anywhere from 18 to 25 of textile Bales every two weeks to be recycled.
Those recycled textiles are then turned into rags, shop bags, or hospital rags. In addition to conserving waste, this practice allows Mosaic to gather even more funding for community projects. “Thanks to our recycling program, we are able to earn a certain amount of cents per pound that we sort and recycle.”Textiles aren’t the only thing Mosaic recycles. “Non-glass or ceramic plates, drinking wear, silverware, Tupperware, decorative pieces you would use to serve anything like that, coffee makers, anything that doesn't work or is incomplete we try to recycle.”Anything from broken Glassware, worn shoes, and broken toys are able to be collected and recycled rather than thrown away. Even items that can’t be sold or given away can still help to fund community programming and transformation. Now that’s what you call trash to treasure.
“What Really Happens to Unwanted Clothes?” Green America, www.greenamerica.org/unraveling-fashion-industry/what-really-happens-unwanted-clothes. Accessed 17 April 2023.
