Union City School Awarded Third Place in the Statewide America Recycles Day Challenge

Clothing recycler USAgain is pleased to announce Alvarado Elementary School in Union City won the third place in tenth annual America Recycles Day Challenge. Across California, 161 schools participated in the challenge and together collected 107,189 pounds of textiles, which helped prevent over 1.6 million of carbon emissions

America Recycles Day Challenge is USAgain’s annual textile recycling competition that encourages students to collect clothes and shoes for rewear, reuse, and recycling. The winners were selected based on the total pounds of textiles collected in the USAgain bin placed at the school premises.

Over the course of the competition, Alvarado Elementary School collected 3,316 pounds securing the third position. McPherson Elementary School in Napa won the first place and Bitely Elementary School in Rosemead finished at the third spot.

“Congratulations to all of the participating schools for their impressive work. It's great to see schools so enthusiastic about the competition, and we hope it has inspired them to be keen recyclers," said USAgain CEO, Mattias Wallander. “Reusing and recycling resources are the best ways to begin building a more sustainable environment.”

Wallander noted that 11 million tons of all unwanted clothing in the U.S. is thrown into the trash and buried in landfills each year, according to the U.S. EPA. Nevertheless, the 15 percent of clothing that does get a second life is equivalent to taking one million cars off the road for a year.

USAgain offers educational resources and other tools that help schools learn about the impact of textile recycling. All participating schools will earn funds based on the pounds collected. USAgain is excited to share their successes with the broader community with the hope that it will inspire other schools to reinvigorate or initiate their recycling programs.

About USAgain

USAgain, a leader in the textile recycling industry since 1999, is a for-profit company that collects clothing, shoes and other textiles. Its mission is to provide consumers with a convenient and eco-friendly option to rid themselves of excess clothing, which is diverted from landfills and put back into the use-cycle, saving natural resources. USAgain offers fundraisers for schools and non-profits through recycling programs. USAgain maintains more than 10,000 collection bins in 15 states and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. For more information, visit www.usagain.com to learn more and locate a recycling container near you.

###