Riverhead partners with Clothes Bin franchise to expand textile recycling, town says program won't compete with charities

Riverhead Town announced a partnership with Clothes Bin, a for-profit franchise operator, to collect textiles at the town transfer station on Youngs Avenue. The bin was placed Aug. 13 and is equipped with a fullness sensor intended to prevent overflow; collected materials are sorted into three streams for resale, recycling or downcycling.

On-air, the franchisee'described Ken Breuder said the business model aims to develop supply chains that turn old textiles into new products. "If we can develop the technology, infrastructure, and supply chains to turn old textiles into new textiles at scale, used clothing becomes a resource rather than waste," the report quoted him as saying. Riverhead civil engineer Joe Rutt told East End News the program's purpose is to "divert textiles from the waste stream" and is not intended to compete with charitable donation efforts.

The broadcast noted the town already has nonprofit donation bins at other locations such as the Salvation Army and Saint Vincent de Paul. The report did not include third-party audits of where specific collected materials are processed or the franchisee's downstream buyers.