Textile waste corresponds to the waste generated during textile production or those clothes that we have tossed in the garbage without considering the facts about what will happen to them in the future. The fashion industry is growing and every one of us wants to fill the cupboard with trendy clothes while throwing away many others. According to a study, approximately 90 million tons per annum of textile waste is globally generated. However, the recycling rate is less than 5%. In this blog post, we have discussed how textile waste is negatively impacting our environment. Let’s get started to learn more.

How Textile Waste is Impacting the Environment

Do you know? Donation is never the solution to the rising concern of textile waste because even after a few years, those donated clothes are going to end up in landfills. At Go Rubbish Go website, we regularly deal with providing rubbish removal services. However, the root of the issue is the constant and unchecked production of new clothes. Here is how textile production is impacting our environment.

● Waste Concentration in Landfills

Textile wastes are the major contributors to starting fires in landfills that are difficult to control and pollute the environment. Moreover, such waste cannot be degraded easily, so they are going to be concentrated in landfills for years and cause their overloading. The increasing concentration of textile waste in landfills is the leading cause of global warming and the climate change which is a major issue to tackle. They release harmful leachates that seep into the water bodies and deteriorate the water quality. The only way to prevent it is to recycle the clothes in all the possible ways and minimize textile production.

● Contribution to the Water Pollution

Textile products contribute to water pollution in many ways. If large items make their way to the water bodies, they can entangle the aquatic species and suffocate them to death. Furthermore, textile industries use millions of gallons of water to produce and process their product. In most countries, wastewater from the textile industries is allowed to enter the water bodies without any treatment. The chemicals and dyes in this waste are a leading concern for aquatic life and if this water is used for irrigation, the plants suffer from stunt growth, and all our produce is overloaded with toxic substances, causing chronic diseases in the consumers.

● Emission of Greenhouse Gases

We have never been able to tackle global warming issues due to carbon dioxide emissions. The worst thing about textile waste is that it emits methane which is even more toxic than carbon dioxide and a major contributor to global warming followed by carbon dioxide. Nowadays, climate change is a major issue, especially in South Asian Countries where the temperature is rising to 50 degrees Celsius and people are dying because of these extreme heat waves. The increasing frequency of natural disasters, melting of glaciers, and the emergence of new diseases are the other effects of climate change and all of them are attributed to human activities.

● Chemical Toxicity from Textiles

During the production of textiles, each step uses many harmful chemicals and dyes. When such items are thrown in landfills, the chemicals seep into the groundwater and pollute our limited drinking water resources. Moreover, the inorganic chemicals cause long-term diseases in aquatic life and damage their body systems leading to a decline in their population. If our plants are watered from these polluted resources, certain toxic chemicals can cause cancers, cardiac, respiratory, and various other systemic diseases in humans. If we give up the unnecessary usage of textiles, we can bring down all these risks.

Final Words

We are leading to the depletion of our natural resources with the unnecessary demand for textile items whether it is the raw material required to produce clothes or the clean water resources that are polluted from textile waste. All such activities are wreaking havoc on our environment. It is the best time to make eco-friendly choices to enjoy a safe and healthy life. You can choose the Handy Rubbish Company for efficient waste management to save everything from ending up in the landfills whether recyclable or not.