Animal shelters are always in need of old towels.
The Council for Textile Recycling reports that approximately four percent of all the waste that is housed in United States landfills is textile waste, which includes towels that are used for bathing in residential settings. Recycling towels can be a way to decrease this statistic and sometimes diminish the need for buying other textile items. Some common ways that towels are recycled include donating them to an animal shelter, making baby bibs or other crafts, converting large towels into smaller wash rags and saving the towels for a community car wash.
Donation
Donating your old towels to an animal shelter will help the shelter to maintain its comfort level for the animals that board there. Animal shelters seem to be in constant need of old towels to line cages and crates. They can also use the towels to clean up urine and feces. Sometimes, the animal shelter will send personnel out to pick up a load of towels if it is more convenient for you. Donating old towels to a homeless shelter is an option but many facilities do not accepts used linens because they are considered intimate items, like underwear and toothbrushes.
Crafts
Towels can be used to make crafts like baby bibs, slippers or oven mitts. The shape is simply drawn on the terry cloth material, cut out and then stitched together into the final product. Other applications, like using an old towel as a Christmas tree skirt or cooking apron are possible applications, as well. If you have a family pet, you can use old towels to make simple chew toys. Before using towels in any craft applications, it is important to wash and dry them thoroughly to discourage any bacterial growth.
Cleaning Applications
Cutting old towels into smaller sections is an easy way to create cleaning rags. Cleaning rags can be used for dusting, drying dishes and sometimes as facial wash cloths, if the towel is fairly clean. A new trend in recycling towels is using them in place of the factory-made pads on the bottom of "swiffer" mops. The pads can be washed and used again and again.
Community Car Washes
Storing towels to be used in community car washes can be an easy way to contribute to a community cause. Many youth groups and schools are in need of used towels for this purpose. Calling the local YMCA or secondary education facility can help you to find any community organizations that are in need.
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