NEW DELHI: Old and used clothes often end up in landfills due to the lack of recycling and upcycling. A recent Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and the DMRC Ladies Welfare Organisation (DLWO) with the Delhi Government’s State Urban Livelihood Mission (SULM) and textile recycling organisations Clothes Box Foundation and Respun aims to solve the problem.
On the occasion, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said that the initiative would help reduce textile waste and encourage citizens to become active partners in building a cleaner and more sustainable Delhi.
Collection centres named ‘Arpan’ will be set up at 10 Metro stations to collect unused clothes from households. In the first phase, Arpan centres will be launched over the next few days at Shahdara, Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Malviya Nagar, Hauz Khas, Dwarka, Mohan Estate, Lajpat Nagar, Mayur Vihar Phase-1, Punjabi Bagh West and Shalimar Bagh Metro stations. Citizens will be able to donate their old clothes at these centres from 7 am to 7 pm. Kiosks will also be installed for the sale of recycled and upcycled products.
The collected clothes would be sorted into different categories. The first category will include garments that can be upcycled by self-help groups into bags, decorative items and other useful products. The second category will consist of clothes that are completely unusable and will be recycled into new products and raw materials. In addition, clothes used for religious rituals and other sacred materials will also be reused and recycled with dignity.
Gupta said that the government is also developing separate solutions for damaged idols, plastic waste and other forms of waste. The Arpan Kendras will be expanded across all parts of Delhi, the chief minister said.
Features of Arpan Kendras
Self-help groups will receive specialised training in textile recycling and upcycling
Clothes box foundation and Respun will manage the segregation, recycling and upcycling of donated textiles
Centres will sell products made from recycled materials, promoting a circular economy
Citizens can digitally register clothing donations by scanning a QR code at the kiosk
DMRC will provide kiosks and supporting infra at Metro stations
Recycling partners to provide tech expertise and capacity building
