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Original poster

What to do with old knickers

46 replies

goingonabearhunt1 · 03/12/2018 00:00

About to have a cull of all worn out undies and don't want to just fling them in the bin. The council take clothes in the black box but it says 'usable clothing' on their website so I'm assuming that doesnt include gross old knickers Grin Does anyone know what I should do with them?

OP posts:
EdtheBear · 03/12/2018 00:04

Bin them. Nobody wants to wear them. ladies knickers are probably too small to even use as rags for oily hands or cleaning ends of pipes (I don't know what else bags of rags get used for)

AutumnCrow · 03/12/2018 00:06

I wash old underwear and socks, bag them up, mark the bag 'for ragging' and take it to a textile bank. Our council provides them (textile banks) as it won't accept any textiles in the black wheelie bins any more. They sell textiles by the tonne apparently.

AutumnCrow · 03/12/2018 00:09

I think they get shredded completely and then re-moulded into stuff like glossy paper and industrial padding.

MrsMoastyToasty · 03/12/2018 00:09

A homeless shelter might take them. They tend to get given a lot of men's clothing but a friend who works at a night shelter in our city says that there's not usually much for the women who are homeless.

Original poster
goingonabearhunt1 · 03/12/2018 00:10

Yes I agree no-one would want to wear bear I just thought there might be some kind of recycling solution.feel a bit guilty adding to landfill. Thanks crow I will check on council website, dunno if they do that here but worth a try.

OP posts:
VanGoghsDog · 03/12/2018 00:12

Homeless shelters do not take used underwear Hmm

BlackForestCake · 03/12/2018 00:32

I put old underwear in my holiday luggage and wear it on holiday then bin it rather than carry it home.

Cheesenacho123 · 03/12/2018 00:46

Buy new ones and bin the old ones. I once gave some new unworn thongs to charity, who knows whether they accepted them or not. They’d been sitting in my drawer for a year, I had a baby and I was like well there never ever getting worn now. So I stuck them in the charity bag and just left the bag with them.

TripTrapTripTrapOverTheBridge · 03/12/2018 00:51

Sell them on ebay,preferably unwashed. You'll make a fortune WinkGrin

NotCitrus · 03/12/2018 06:06

Bag them, label the bag 'clean textiles for rags', donate to charity shop (check they take textiles first). They end up as industrial cushioning, mostly.

WereYouHareWhenIWasFox · 03/12/2018 06:26

I also do the holiday thing, especially long haul flights. Who wants to carry their old knickers, so I just bin them mid flight.

Chocolatebourbons · 03/12/2018 06:32

Erm...just bin them?

Or are you a knicker troll? Hmm

stealthbanana · 03/12/2018 06:47

Definitely recycle. H&M have a scheme where they will give you a £5 voucher for every bag of textiles you bring in (they have bins in most stores). I think it’s £5 off a £30 spend from memory. You can bring clothes and textiles from any brand.

Or as PP says lots of councils do textile recycling.

carrie74 · 03/12/2018 06:52

Textile bank for rags. I can't imagine just binning any clothes 😱

A580Hojas · 03/12/2018 06:55

Please don't bin them! Argh! I can't stand this casual attitude to landfill. I have a charity bag for all old and worn through textiles constantly on the go here. I put things in as they come off the clothes airer and I notice holes or damage that can't be repaired. This includes socks, tights and pants. When the bag is full I tie it up, stick a big label on it saying "recycling only" and either give it to the charity shop if they want it, or put it in one of those clothes banks at the recycling centre. We must recycle 2 large bags of fabric per year like this alone.

madcatladyforever · 03/12/2018 06:55

What triptrap said - make some money out of perverts.

megletthesecond · 03/12/2018 06:57

Rag bin at the tip.
They shred down unwearable clothes for cleaning rags and stuffing material.

mammmamia · 03/12/2018 07:15

I can’t believe some people bin them on holiday.
Make it another country’s landfill problem, why don’t you. Angry

TroyKing · 03/12/2018 07:17

Cut into strips and knit or crochet a dress

inhabitat.com/ecouterre/knit-from-undies-antoine-peters-knicker-dress-reimagines-the-everyday/

EdtheBear · 03/12/2018 07:31

I can't find anything that says clothing can be shredded into paper or industrial cushioning.

As far as I am aware the majority of recycled clothing gets sold cheaply abroad. Some countries have banned the sale of recycled undies.
The stuff that gets cut up for rags and sold gets used once (soiled with oil / muck / dirt) then sent to landfill.

Lexilooo · 03/12/2018 07:32

Take a bag full to a recycling shop, they pay you by weight and recycle the textiles. Every city has them

PineappleTart · 03/12/2018 07:35

Lots of charities will accept unusable clothing, shoes and bags and can recycle these for money. I just mark the bags clearly

elenaf · 03/12/2018 07:42

M&S Shwopping bins - they take all clothing, even if it isn't usuable.114,000 items of clothing an hour are sent to landfill in the UK. Horrifying!

IWasTrendingThereForAMinute · 03/12/2018 07:44

I put mine in the wormery/compost. All that's left is the edging after three weeks. That goes in the bin.

WereYouHareWhenIWasFox · 03/12/2018 07:47

Mammamia, it’s ok, my knickers are tiny.