The Unwearables Project is a Newcastle-based, innovative six-month trial designed to provide a genuine, local recycling pathway for the synthetic clothing that charities cannot sell and that would otherwise end up in landfill.
The Problem: Synthetic Textile Waste is Plastic Waste
Around 60% of modern clothing is made of synthetic fibres – essentially plastic.
Textiles make up around 7% of local landfills, taking hundreds of years to break down and releasing harmful greenhouse gases.
Australian op shops are overwhelmed, forced to landfill over 40,000 tonnes of unsellable clothing donations every year. The Unwearables Project aims to reduce the burden on our local op shops and develop circular solutions for textile waste.
Our Solution: A Community-Led Circular Trial
Textiles collected during the trial will be used for community upcycling initiatives. In addition, we’re working with local manufacturers to recycle synthetic textile waste into new products – reducing landfill AND our need for virgin plastics!
Working at a local level minimises transport emissions and supports local industry.
To make recycling accessible and community-focused, The Full Circle Collective will host a series of community collections in association with local Repair Café events.
How to Participate
1. Gather Your Unwearables
Collect your CLEAN, damaged synthetic clothing (see below for what is accepted)
2. Choose a Collection Event
IT and Tech Repair Café (bring along your repairs while you’re there!)
IC Solutions – 150 Maitland Road, Mayfield
5 to 7:30pm
21 Aug | 4 Sep | 18 Sep 2026
Wallsend Library – 30 Bunn Street, Wallsend
10am – 2pm
22 Aug 2026
3. Visit the “Decommissioning Station”
Join us onsite to remove anything that is not plastic (eg. metal or wooden buttons and toggles, metal zips etc.), or bring them pre-removed.
What does it cost?
While true textile recycling is complex and expensive, we are offering this service free of charge during this trial phase to remove barriers and encourage as many people as possible to help us reach our goal of diverting one tonne of synthetic textiles from landfill!
What to bring
Clothes you can’t donate to an op shop – items that are torn, stretched, stained, pilled, or broken. If it’s clean, synthetic, and unwearable, we’ll take it! (check tags for polyester, nylon, acrylic, PVC, elastane, polypropylene, and polyurethane) We will accept up to a 50% blend with non-synthetic fibres (eg. poly/cotton blends)
What not to bring
Underwear Items that ARE suitable for donation to Op Shops (ie. ‘wearables’) Items that are unwashed/dirty (stains are ok as long as the item is clean)
Be a pioneer. Help us prove that a local, circular future for fashion is possible in Newcastle.
The Unwearables Project is proudly supported by
