A COUNCIL is urging residents to recycle more of their unwanted clothes, bedding and household textiles.

Around 336,000 tonnes of clothing are dumped in the UK annually and the average household throws away nearly £1,000 of clothes a year.

Now Ribble Valley households are being urged to recycle, reuse or give their unwanted garments to charity.

Ribble Valley Council engineering assistant Daniel McCaffrey said: “There is no need for clothing to make its way into a bin and textile waste is becoming a significant environmental problem.

“There are many ways to keep clothing out of landfill – the easiest is simply by wearing them for longer.

“Clothes and textiles that are in good condition can be donated and sold for re-use, while items that aren’t suitable to be passed on can be recycled and made into new items, such as padding for chairs and car seats, cleaning cloths and industrial blankets.

“Over 95 per cent of textiles in landfill are reusable and we are asking residents to think carefully before throwing clothes in the bin.”

There are textile recycling banks in supermarket car parks throughout Ribble Valley, the Clitheroe Household Waste Recycling Centre in Henthorn Road and the Longridge Household Waste Recycling Centre at Chapel Hill.