ART: Empowering communities to recycle and make a lasting impact

ABOUT US

American Recycling Technologies (ART) is dedicated to transforming textile waste into an innovative sustainable solution.

Since 1993, ART has partnered with hundreds of private, public, and community based organizations to promote the recycling of unwanted clothing and textiles. By placing thousands of recycling containers across Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, ART has diverted over 1.2 billion pounds of clothing from landfills, while simultaneously raising over $25,000,000 for numerous charities, public services, and municipalities.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Every year, around 11.3 million tons of textiles—mostly clothing—are discarded into American landfills, amounting to a staggering 22 billion pounds. This overwhelming waste underscores the critical need to recycle and repurpose textiles to protect our planet. Our recycling program plays a vital role in combating pollution by ensuring that these materials are given a second life instead of being buried, burned, or destroyed, helping to keep our soil free from harmful contaminants.

  • ART welcomes all types of textiles, including both woven and non-woven fabrics such as clean clothing, shoes, handbags, tablecloths, sheets, comforters, bedspreads, and towels. However, please note that we do not accept rugs.

  • ART makes recycling easy — you provide the space, and we handle the rest! With your manager's approval, we’ll place our clearly marked containers on your property, displaying your organization’s or favorite charity’s logo, along with a contact number for additional information. In return, we offer premium placement fees, paid in advance, ensuring that all property owners are fully insured. Our team services each location at least twice weekly to keep the drop-off area clean, attractive, and convenient for residents. Plus, we provide regular reports to help municipalities earn Federal recycling credits, with quarterly checks sent to participating organizations. There's no long-term obligation — opt out at any time, and we’ll promptly remove the containers.

  • ART does not offer individual home pick-ups, but we do offer pick-ups for businesses that would like donate.

  • Our program won't cost your organization a dime, but it will generate thousands of dollars in funds throughout the year!

  • ART recycles recovered clothing in three key ways:

    1. Some items are donated to those in need.

    2. High-quality clothing is sold in bulk to organizations that provide affordable options to those who can't buy new.

    3. Unusable clothing is sorted, washed, and cut for industrial uses, such as cleaning heavy machinery and car washes, or repurposed in the auto industry as seat stuffing for large trucks.

  • We take pride in maintaining clean communities and ensure that our containers are serviced at least twice weekly. If a container becomes full before the scheduled pick-up, simply call us at 888-243-3273, and we'll arrange a pick-up within 24 hours.

  • ART now recycles over 90 million pounds of clothing annually. Since our humble beginnings, where we recycled 50,000 pounds in 1993, we've seen significant growth: 250,000 pounds in 1994, 3 million pounds in 1998, 5 million pounds in 2000, 10 million pounds in 2005, and 30 million pounds in 2010.