Why Old Sheets and Towels Shouldn’t Go in the Bin
Putting old sheets or a tired towel in the bin feels like the end of it. It isn’t. Bed linen and towels thrown away are lost for good, even though most still have plenty of use left in them. Here is what happens to bedding and towels that are binned, and how donating them through our free doorstep linen and towel collection gives them a second use instead.
The scale of it
How much fabric the UK throws away
Sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers and towels are textiles, just like clothes, and a great deal of them end up in household rubbish. WRAP’s Textiles Market Situation Report (2024) estimates that around 711,000 tonnes of used textiles go into UK black bins every year.
Worldwide, the picture is starker. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, in A New Textiles Economy (2017), found that the equivalent of one rubbish lorry full of textiles is landfilled or burned every second.
Much of that is fabric someone else could still use. A set of sheets taken off the bed when you change the colour scheme, or towels swapped for a new matching set, usually still has years of use in it.
Out of sight
What happens to bedding and towels in landfill
Sheets and towels don’t simply disappear once they are buried.
Cotton and linen rot slowly
Natural fibres break down without air in a landfill site. As they do, they give off methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
Synthetic fibres barely break down
Many sheets are polycotton, a blend of cotton and polyester, and some towels are made from microfibre. Polyester is a plastic made from oil. In landfill it can last a very long time, shedding tiny plastic fibres as it breaks up.
Dyes and finishes go too
The chemicals used to colour, bleach and treat fabric go into the ground with it.
Burned
What happens to bedding that is burned
A lot of what goes into household bins in the UK is incinerated, often to make electricity. That is better than burying it, but it still releases carbon. It also destroys a perfectly good duvet cover or bath towel in a single moment.
Hidden cost
The waste you can’t see
The biggest loss is everything that went into making the fabric. Growing cotton, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing all take energy and water. Our own estimate is that each kilo of linen and towels used again, instead of made new, saves around 3 kg of CO2e and 2,500 litres of water. When usable bedding is thrown away, that saving is lost, and something new has to be made to replace it.
The answer
How donating stops it
Keep sheets and towels in use for as long as you can, then pass them on. Every bag that goes into a collection van instead of the bin is bedding that can be used again, with nothing to burn or bury.
Donate what can be used again
Book a free linen and towel collection and we take your sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers and towels from your doorstep. Most of what we collect is used again.
Recycle what can’t
Worn-through or badly stained pieces go in a council textile bank or to your local recycling centre, not the bin. Or cut old towels up as cleaning cloths at home.
Bin nothing that could be reused
Not sure which pile something belongs in? Check what bed linen and towels can I donate? and can I donate old towels?
Reuse comes first because it saves the most. Why, and by how much, is on how donating bed linen helps the planet, and you can work out your own clear-out with our green calculator.
You don’t need to judge whether something is good enough beyond the simple test of clean, dry and usable. We sort every bag by hand at our warehouse and pass on what can be used again, so the most helpful thing is to include everything that still has use left in it.
A second use
Where your sheets and towels can go instead
Donated bedding helps people setting up a home for less, and the money it raises goes to the charity you choose when you book. A large percentage of the proceeds goes to your chosen cause.
Sometimes it goes somewhere you might not expect. We’ve even re-homed bed linen and towels to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to be used as cosy pet bedding!
Read more on who do my bed linen and towels help? and what happens to my bed linen and towels?
The simple test
What belongs in the donation bag
If it’s clean, dry and someone could use it tomorrow, it belongs in the donation bag, not the bin.
Give it a second use
- Bed sheets and fitted sheets
- Pillowcases and duvet covers
- Table cloths
- Bath towels and hand towels
We can’t take
- Duvets and pillows
- Blankets and throws
- Wet, torn or badly stained bedding
The full list is on what bed linen and towels can I donate?
Clearing out more than the linen cupboard? We collect clothes, shoes, books and plenty more in the same visit. See everything we collect.
Every day
Small changes that add up
- Buy fewer, better sets of bedding, and rotate them so they wear evenly.
- Wash at lower temperatures and line-dry when you can, so fabric lasts longer.
- Mend a split seam on a duvet cover before giving up on it.
- Pass on sheets and towels you’re replacing while they’re still in good condition.
Related reading
More on donating linen and towels
- How do I donate my bed linen and towels?
- What happens to my bed linen and towels?
- How does donating bed linen help the planet?
- Green calculator: what your clear-out could save
Got sheets and towels ready to pass on? Leave them out in tied bags by 7am on your collection day, and you don’t need to be in. Find your area on charity collections near you, or see linen donations in Yorkshire, then book a free doorstep collection.
Sources
- WRAP, Textiles Market Situation Report (2024).
- Ellen MacArthur Foundation, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning fashion’s future (2017).
- CO2e and water savings per kilo reused: Anglo Doorstep Collections estimate.
Ready to donate your linen and towels?
It’s free, you don’t need to be at home, and you choose the charity your donation supports.