Town Manager Norman Khumalo and Department of Public Works Director John Westerling are pleased to announce that the Town of Hopkinton has partnered with Helpsy to offer a free and easy home pickup clothing recycling service for the community.
As of Dec. 12, Hopkinton residents can now request for their unwanted clothing and textile items to be picked up by Helpsy at their homes. Pickups in Hopkinton will take place weekly on Monday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Residents can schedule a home pickup by visiting www.helpsy.co/hopkintonma or calling 1-800-244–6350.
All items should be placed in a closed bag and left outside by the curb on their assigned collection day. Helpsy will accept donations in any type of bag, so long as the items are dry and clean.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, textile waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the United States, occupying nearly 5% of all landfill space. In an effort to reduce waste statewide, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently enacted new waste ban regulations that prohibit textiles, including clean clothing, footwear, bedding, towels, curtains, fabrics, and more, from being disposed of. Effective Nov. 1, these items must be recycled or donated for reuse.
“We are excited to launch this partnership with Helpsy to combine efforts in keeping unwanted textiles out of the waste stream,” said Director Westerling. “Helpsy home pickups are a free and convenient way for residents to responsibly recycle their unwanted items and help our environment. We encourage residents to take advantage of this free service.”
Helpsy operates 1,300 clothing collection points and provides free curbside service to millions of people. Hopkinton is the 30th town to partner with Helpsy to provide free home pickup service. In 2021 alone, Helpsy diverted nearly 30 million pounds of textiles from landfills through a combination of clothing drives, home pickups, thrift store partners and clothing bins. The collected textiles are either resold to thrift stores, turned into rags for industrial use, or repurposed as stuffing and insulation.
“Helpsy’s mission is to keep clothes out of the trash,” said Dan Green, Co-Founder and CEO of Helpsy. “We are dedicated to changing the way people think about clothing recycling while adhering to the highest level of social and environmental performance.”
Helpsy is a B Corp Certification, meaning that the business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving, to supply chain practices and input materials.
Learn more about Helpsy and home pickups, click here.