Adur and Worthing council service resumes after contractor 'closed suddenly'

This comes after the former contractor responsible for textile recycling collections in Adur and Worthing went into liquidation.

Adur & Worthing Councils said last week that residents may have noticed that the area’s textile collection banks ‘haven’t been emptied in recent days’. This resulted in a ‘growing number of bags being left by the kerbside’ at some of the ‘more popular’ textile recycling points.

"We’re sorry to confirm that there’s currently a temporary pause to textile recycling collections in Adur and Worthing as our contractor responsible for the service has closed suddenly,” a post on social media on Wednesday, March 26 read.

"We contacted the contractor responsible for the collections and discovered that it is going into liquidation and has ceased its services with immediate effect.

"We’re aware that some textile recycling banks across Adur and Worthing are now looking messy as a result, and are working to find a quick solution to tidy these areas.”

The councils ‘begun looking for a new operator’ that can deliver the service. In the meantime, residents were asked to ‘please not place any additional textile waste’ out for collection ‘until the problem has been resolved’.

The statement continued: “We have made Worthing Community Chest aware of the temporary pause in collection, as income generated from the recycling of people’s old clothes and shoes from the banks across Worthing raises funds that are used to directly benefit local non-profit groups.

"If you’re looking to recycle clothes that remain suitable for use, please consider donating them to a charity shop instead or another alternative method.

"Residents can also responsibly dispose of their old clothes at the recycling centres in Shoreham and Worthing, but please remember to book an appointment in advance of your visit.”

An update was posted on Wednesday afternoon (April 2).

"We are pleased to share that textile recycling collections have now resumed in Adur and Worthing, allowing everyone to easily recycle their old clothes and shoes at various locations across the area,” the councils said.

“Thanks to the quick work of our teams, we’re happy to share that a temporary operator has now been appointed, with collections restarting today.

“We would also like to thank our waste teams, who spent time helping to clear some of the excess textile waste that was building up at some of the busier recycling points in the area.”

In the coming months, the councils will be ‘finalising a new permanent contract’ with the company that will see the area’s textile recycling bins ‘replaced with nice new ones’.

They added: “Thank you to anyone who temporarily held their old textiles at home, or used another local service, while waiting for the service to be resumed.”

To see a map of the area’s textile bins, visit https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/recycling-and-waste/recycling-centres/.