Tue May 14, 2013
Read the original story from Fort Madison Daily Democrat.
By Joe Benedict Jbenedict@dailydem.com
People driving through Fort Madison and other towns in the area may have noticed large green and white bins that look like oversized mail collection boxes in various parking lots. The bins are from a company called USAgain and they take clothes and shoes that people no longer want.
Other charitable organizations have used similar bins around the country to take donations of clothing, but USAgain is not donating clothing to people.
Rather, the company states it is trying to keep clothing from taking up landfill space.
It collects the unwanted clothes, processes the items and sells the goods to wholesale buyers, thrift store chains and textile recyclers.
The company's web site, www.usagain.com states shopping at a thrift store is "great for the environment and the bargains."
The website also features an ever-increasing counter of items saved from the landfill (about 523 million), pounds of CO2 saved (about 3.3 billion) and amount of space saved in landfills (2.7 million cubic yards).
While the clothing items collected are resold, USAgain's website says the company does give back to the community. It states more than 1,000 organizations from school, churches, hospitals and youth groups have received more than $1 million in support from its charitable giving program.
In Fort Madison, there are bins located in the parking lots of Kempker's True Value, Garner's, Vel's Amigos, Quicker Liquor and at NoWhere Bar and Grill.
There's also a bin at Garner One Stop north of Montrose and at the Wever Junction BP.