A Liverpool city region family firm that specialises in recycling discarded ‘fast fashion’ textiles secures deal with Wirral Council to help people across the borough dispose of their unwanted garments. Tony McDonough reports

Family firm Roberts Recycling has secured a deal with Wirral Council to install 15 new textile recycling banks across the borough.

Liverpool city region-based Roberts Recycling specialises in recycling so-called fast fashion clothing. In recent years high street discount fashion chains, along with fast-emerging ecommerce retailers, have helped to make clothes cheaper and easier to get.

And ‘must-have’ fashions are now relentlessly promoted on multiple social media channels such as Instagram. This means clothes are being worn and discarded more quickly and too often end up in landfill.

These 15 recycling banks will take clothes, shoes and other reusable textile products such as sheets, towels, belts, bags and hats. These new containers will be located at:

• Mill Park Drive, Eastham
• Allport Lane Car Park, Bromborough
• Barlow Avenue Car Park, Bebington
• Grove Street Car Park, New Ferry
• Holm Lane/ Woodchurch Road Car Park, Prenton
• Pye Road Car Park, Heswall
• Mount Avenue/ Heswall Hall, Heswall
• Puddydale Car Park, Heswall
• West Kirby Morrisons, West Kirby
• Greasby Library, Greasby
• Seaview Road Car Park, Wallasey
• Liscard Village Car Park, Wallasey
• Holt Avenue, Moreton
• Exmouth Car Park, Birkenhead
• Church Road Car Park, Bebington

Paul Roberts, director at Roberts Recycling, said: “We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Wirral Council to make textile recycling more accessible for local communities, giving clothing a second life while supporting a more sustainable future.”

Roberts has more than 15 years of experience in the textile recycling sector and was recently awarded the King’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade for a third time.

It was established in 2009 by brothers Simon and John Roberts. Older brother Paul joined the business later on. It was an offshoot of a Kirkby-based family firm called Oldham Brothers.

Founded in 1946, Oldham Brothers specialised in demolition, scrap metal and skip hire. And, it was while working for the company, that Simon had a moment of inspiration.

He told LBN in 2023: “We were working in the waste recycling part of the business and we noticed people were coming in with clothing. House clearance companies were also looking to get rid of textiles so we knew there was a market for it.

“So we started diverting it from the landfill waste stream for reuse. At the time we were just selling the clothes domestically. However, as the business grew and we made more contacts, we got into the export market.”

In Wirral, about 5% of waste collected from green wheelie bins is textiles waste. By using charity shops, trading sites or these dedicated clothes and shoes recycling banks, these materials will be diverted and reused instead.

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Cllr Liz Grey, chair of the Environment, Climate Emergency and Transport Committee for Wirral Council, added: “We know that people are accustomed to taking their unwanted clothes to charity shops.

“And increasingly they are buying and selling pre-loved items through online platforms and websites – which is a great way of reusing clothes and shoes and reducing the items that end up in general waste.

“The new banks provide another alternative – a convenient, local way for residents to clear out their unwanted clean, wearable or reusable clothes, shoes and other items and have them recycled or reused.”