Rostock is removing old clothing containers – this is how to dispose of them correctly!

Rostock is removing old clothing containers – this is how to dispose of them correctly!

A look at the disposal of used clothing in Rostock shows that a lot is systematically changing. Güstrower Werkstätten GmbH's used clothing containers will be removed from nine locations in the city by the end of September 2025. But don't worry, there are numerous alternatives for handing over old clothes, while the containers run by the company East-West, which operates on behalf of the city, will remain in place. The changes affect locations such as Nobelstrasse, where citizens can use alternative drop-off points on Erich-Weinert-Strasse and Rudolf-Diesel-Strasse, to name just a few. You can hand in old clothes there in normal household quantities, which is in keeping with the recycling culture, which has become increasingly important in recent years.

But why are these changes being made at all? The used textile market is facing enormous challenges. The Güstrow workshops report difficulties in earning the necessary wages for people with disabilities and the logistical disposal costs are also a problem. In addition, the quality of textiles in the containers has continuously declined. Foreign substances and heavily soiled clothing not only make sorting more difficult, but also increase disposal costs. The workshops are forced to stop collecting in certain places and ask citizens not to fill the containers additionally and only to hand in clothing that is clean, dry and recyclable.

New EU guidelines cause confusion

There is confusion not only in Rostock, there are also new guidelines across the EU that will come into force in 2025. These state that all textiles, regardless of their condition, must be disposed of in used clothing containers. Nonprofit organizations and consumers are concerned about this and are asking that only usable clothing be placed in the containers. The Hamburg Consumer Center similarly recommends that it is better to dispose of heavily soiled or broken textiles in the residual waste. Recycling textile fibers is extremely time-consuming and expensive, which has a negative impact on the environmental situation.

The goals of this new directive are clear: reduce the amount of waste and improve the recycling of textiles. Unfortunately, reality shows that less than half of all used clothing in the EU is actually collected to be reused or recyclable. Another problem is related to fast fashion, because every European buys almost 26 kg of textiles and throws away around 11 kg. A sad trend that urgently needs to be stopped.

The view of the used clothing market

The challenge for the used clothing market would be the increasing amount of clothing and the increasingly poor quality of the donated textiles. Of the over one million tons of used textiles that end up in containers in Germany every year, only around 50 percent are still usable. The rest is either sold or burned, which causes additional CO₂ emissions. The goal must remain to significantly improve collection and recycling in order to do our environment a favor.

The Güstrower Werkstätten and other organizational representatives hope that citizens will recognize the importance of correctly disposing of old clothing and behave accordingly. Maybe it will help to consider these aspects the next time you donate clothes and reduce your own wardrobe with a certain degree of mindfulness.

For current information and updates on this topic, we recommend following local news. If you would like to find out more about the new disposal guidelines and the challenges in the used clothing market, you can do so in the reports from Rostock town hall, NDR and ZDF do.