Back to school: Channel 9 shows you how shopping at this store can reduce landfill waste

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Each year, families need to collect many supplies before heading back to school.

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But it’s also a time when they need to get rid of old items — namely clothes — that kids have outgrown.

Channel 9 Certified Meteorologist George Waldenberger found a spot where families can take care of both tasks at once.

He visited Goodwill’s Taft Outlet in Orlando.

He learned it is a different type of store — one that works to keep bundles of hand-me-downs from getting dumped into already-crowded landfills.

Customers can drop off outgrown clothes while getting supplies for the new school year.

Debbie English, a local teacher, said she shops there there often.

“I found everything from note cards, to backpacks, to folders for my class... pens, pencils.”

Joseph Ocello, Senior Director of Transportation and Logistics for Goodwill Central Florida, said the 108,000 square foot facility acts as a hub.

What doesn’t sell at Goodwill of Central Florida’s other 29 stores is collected there.

Lower prices, by the pound, attract many, including vendors looking for sales inventory.

Of course, not everything sells. So when the dust settles, the leftovers are wheeled back out for one more chance for public sale.

What doesn’t get purchased ends up in large after-market bales of textiles that weigh between 800 and 1200 pounds.

From there, after-market purchasers will buy them for 18 to 29 cents per pound.

Waldenbeger found that in 2023, roughly 135,000 tons of textiles went into the Orange County Landfill, accounting for 3% of all waste.

That number would have even higher if not for Goodwill’s resale efforts.

“Last year, we saved 24 million pounds out of the landfill,” Ocello said.

Although roughly 10% of donations, including ripped, torn, or soiled clothing, do end up getting thrown away, the process creates jobs for some.

Ocello said, “Our mission is building lives that work.”

And it saves money for others.

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