Clothing Recycle
2 min read
By Pedro Carreira
Updated 25 June 2026
Sewing and alterations businesses generate: fabric offcuts (the largest stream by volume), thread waste, pins and needles (sharps-like waste — use puncture-proof containers), packaging, and general waste.
Clean fabric offcuts can go to textile recyclers at $0–2/kg or be donated to craft groups. Monthly waste: $50–150 for a small alterations shop.
Keep a separate container for pins and needles to prevent injury to waste handlers.
Key Numbers
- Clean fabric offcuts to textile recyclers: $0–2/kg
- Small alterations shop monthly waste: $50–150
- Metro landfill levy (2025–26): $169.79/tonne
- Saving via an independent broker: up to 30%
What You Need to Know
For a sewing or alterations business, fabric offcuts are the stream that quietly fills your general bin and drives up cost — yet most of it is clean, recyclable material that should never touch landfill at $169.79/tonne. Sorting at the bench is the lever: keep textile, packaging and sharps apart at the point of cutting so no single bin is too contaminated to divert.
- Clean fabric offcuts — the largest stream by volume; to textile recyclers (or craft-group donation) at $0–2/kg, well below general-waste disposal.
- Pins and needles — a dedicated puncture-proof container, never the general bin, to protect waste handlers.
- Thread waste and packaging — cardboard and clean film recycled separately.
- General waste — only what genuinely cannot be diverted.
Diverting clean offcuts also supports Recycling Victoria — A New Economy, the state's circular-economy plan steering businesses toward a four-stream system. As an independent broker, Bundle Waste runs a free invoice audit, compares a network of providers to right-size your textile and general streams, and is paid only from the savings we find — up to 30%.
Related Resources
Related Questions
What waste do printing companies produce?+
Print businesses generate: paper offcuts (30–40%), ink waste (5–10%, often hazardous), solvents (hazardous), plastic substrates (10–20%), metal offcuts (5–10%). Ink and solvents are PIW requiring EPA tracking. Monthly cost: $300–1,000.
How do I dispose of used uniforms and workwear?+
Options: textile recyclers (clean, wearable), shred branded uniforms ($150–400/tonne), convert to industrial rags. Remove reflective strips before recycling. PPE contaminated with chemicals may need hazardous waste disposal.
How should a jewellery workshop manage waste?+
Jewellery workshops generate: precious metal filings and dust (valuable — recover and sell), chemical waste from cleaning solutions and acids (hazardous), polishing compounds, packaging, and general waste. Precious metal recovery can offset costs. Chemical waste requires licensed disposal. Monthly waste: $100–300.
What waste does a furniture manufacturer produce?+
Furniture manufacturers generate: timber offcuts (30–40%), upholstery waste (15–25%), adhesive and finishing chemicals (potentially hazardous), metal hardware waste, packaging, and sawdust. Clean timber offcuts can be recycled at $80–120/tonne. Sawdust extraction systems reduce airborne waste. Monthly cost: $500–2,000.
What waste does a commercial printer or sign shop generate?+
Commercial printers generate: paper/substrate offcuts (30–40%), ink waste (PIW — requires EPA tracking), chemical cleaning solutions (PIW), aluminium printing plates (recyclable at $0.50–2/kg), and packaging waste. UV-cure and solvent-based inks are hazardous. Monthly waste cost: $300–1,200. Paper offcuts should be recycled — baling earns rebates of $50–100/tonne.
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Updated 25 June 2026
