E-Thread advances zero landfill agenda with help from IVECO

News

14 June

While recycling is most commonly associated with reducing glass, steel, plastic, paper and cardboard waste, Australians on average discard 23 kilograms of clothing per person, per year – companies such as E-Thread are working hard to eliminate these textiles from being dumped in landfill.

A family-owned business with considerable experience in textile recycling, E-Thread is committed to finding new and creative solutions to garment waste, offering clothing recovery programs that reduce waste and encourage upcycling. And it’s experiencing strong growth, particularly since the COVID period, where travel restrictions and falling volunteer numbers meant many organisations had to cull or cease clothing collection services.

E-Thread now has a wide network of collection bins across New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, with services in Queensland to begin shortly. Along with collection bins that are easily accessible to the public, E-Thread provides local government services, and school programs, and also partners with retailers to pick-up and recycle excess stock and unwanted returns.

The company’s dedication to achieving zero landfill is matched by the professional way it goes about its business, including full Environmental, Social and Governance reporting and an ingrained company culture of sustainability.

E-Thread Director Zac Banks – one of four brothers who oversee the business – explains the process further, and discusses the important role that the company’s fleet of 10 Daily 50C vans play.

“Every 10 minutes an estimated 6,000kg of textiles and clothing end up in Australian landfill, and we want to put an end to that,” Zac said.

“We operate completely transparently and offer 100 per cent tracking of all donated apparel. Our vertically integrated supply chain ensures all donated items are either reused – both domestically and internationally – repurposed or recycled with zero waste.

“Our service begins with the regular and careful maintenance of our collection bins to eliminate unsightly overflow. When the IVECO Dailys arrive at the collection points, the garments are collected, photographed and stored in customised compartments within the vans, before being taken to our sorting facilities.

“The garments are then unloaded, weighed and hand sorted – depending on their grading, they’re sold to shops and markets (a and b grade) and what doesn’t make it (c grade), are cut into rags to be used as stuffing, for cleaning, or used to make items like tote bags.

“The cataloguing also gives us an understand of the volumes each collection point is generating and we can adjust collection frequency that’s specific to that bin; it varies from twice daily to four times per week.”

E-Thread’s IVECO Daily fleet all feature 180hp Euro6 engines, matched to the popular 8-Speed fully automatic transmission; opting for 16m³ volume capacity sees the Dailys strike a happy medium between payload and maneuverability in carparks and other restrictive collection zones.

“Having a vehicle that was car-like to drive, that could be used on a car licence and still gave a payload of around two tonnes was attractive for us,” Zac said.

“The Daily is versatile in that it can handle the busy city streets and metro areas, going just about everywhere a car can. They also provide good loading access and are comfortable on longer routes, where they can cover over 600 kilometres in a day. They’ve been a reliable van for us, and the drivers enjoy using them.”

E-Thread’s commitment to recycling extends beyond just textiles. Anybody who regularly uses collection bins will know that all manner of goods can end up in and around the bins.

“We look after the space at collection sites and partner with other like-minded companies with the same objectives – they help recycle the other items that come in during the process including metals, plastics and paper products,” Zac said.

The IVECO Daily fleet was purchased from IVECO Sydney, a dealership that Zac said E-Thread has enjoyed a great relationship with.

“The team at IVECO Sydney are fantastic to work with, especially Antonio who is the representative we deal with for everything. We receive quick response times and great service when it comes to service and parts,” Zac said.