Why We Recommend Recycling or Re-purposing Old Scrubs
Why We Recommend Recycling or Repurposing Old Scrubs
With over 18 million healthcare workers in the US, many sets of scrubs have been put to good use by our health care heroes. But what happens to those millions of scrubs when they have reached the end of their life cycle? Often times they are simply thrown in the trash and sent to a landfill.
A Few Facts
- The EPA estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons!
- Textiles make up 5% of all landfills in the US.
- Only about 15% of textiles are recycled annually.
- According to the World Resources Institute, it takes 2,000 liters of water to make one cotton shirt.
- Textiles can take up to 200 years to decompose in landfills
- Every year, the average American generates around 80 pounds of textile waste.
Instead of throwing away old scrubs, consider giving them a new life. In our upcoming blog posts, we will highlight different ways to recycle or repurpose old scrubs.
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