A company called Trashie has started offering people a Take Back Bag. For $20, anyone can get one of these bags, fill it with old clothes and other household items, and return it to their recycling center. In return, you get rewards worth $30 that you can use toward movie tickets, new clothing from ecologically responsible companies, and more.
How does Trashie's Take Back Bag work?
Start by ordering the Take Back Bag from Trashie's website. Before long, you'll receive a large neon bag in the mail.
Once you have it, fill it with up to 15 pounds of clothes and other fabric items that you don't want anymore. These can include items that are too big, too small, damaged, or that just don't fit your current aesthetic.
You can also add things like winter coats your kids grew out of, sheets for your old mattress, towels, and even purses and backpacks.
Once you've filled your Take Back Bag, scan the code on it to get your shipping label and your $30 worth of TrashieCash. Then, simply drop the bag with the appropriate shipper.
Trashie will go through your bag and sort the items you sent. Some of it gets reused around the world, and some of it will be shredded for things like filling for animal beds.
Once you have your TrashieCash, go back to their website and figure out how you want to use it. You can save it for larger rewards or order something today.
Why should I do Trashie's Take Back Bag?
There are so many reasons why using Trashie's Take Back Bag is good for you and good for the planet. It's a great way to declutter your home. According to Psychology Today, the benefits of decluttering go beyond having less stuff at home to trip over. Clutter makes it harder to focus, and makes people more irritable and less productive.
TrashieCash can be good for your budget, too. You can use it to order things like meals from HelloFresh, which can help you eat healthy on a budget. Or, you can save it for something bigger like a new pair of Allbirds.
🗣️ Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to recycle old clothes and electronics?
🔘 Giving me money back 💰
🔘 Letting me trade for new stuff 👕
🔘 Making it as easy as possible ⚡
🔘 Keeping my stuff out of landfills 🗑️
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
Finally, Trashie's Take Back Bag is good for the environment. The University of Colorado Boulder says that landfills full of trash, like what you would throw away without that bag, release methane gas, which can hurt people and animals and are often located in places that used to be natural habitats.
Are there similar programs to Trashie's Take Back Bag?
There's nothing out there exactly like Trashie's Take Back Bag, but a few things come close. Sometimes, you can make money off your old clothes. Some brands will let you recycle old jeans for credit toward new ones, and certain websites will let you list your old clothes for sale.
None are quite as trendy as Trashie's Take Back Bag, though. "This is so cool," said one person on Instagram. "Great way to donate," said another.
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