Will County Textile, Shoe Collection Set For May 3-7

Will County’s annual textile and shoe collection event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, May 3, through Thursday, May 7, with special hours on Friday, May 7, at the County Office Building.

Last year’s collection set a record for the amount of textiles and shoes collected, weighing in at 34,752 pounds. In 2019, the collection netted 12,298 pounds of textiles and home goods.  The annual event began in 2005 when only shoes were collected.

People are invited to drop off clean unwanted textiles such as clothing, table linens, drapes, blankets, shoes and boots. Shoes and boots must be banded with their matches. The contactless collection event will also include small useable home goods.

In order to keep all participants safe, the collection will be in the parking lot of the County Office Building, 302 N. Chicago St. The contractor, Helping Hands, will set up a truck in the parking lot each day. Donors will set their items on an adjacent table and Helping Hands staff will carry the items to the truck, making the exchange contactless.

Helping Hands is a local thrift store supplier and a global reuse and recycling organization. After last year’s collection, Helping Hands donated $1,000 to SharefestWillCounty.org.

As is tradition for the final day of the collection event, WJOL’s morning crew will be on hand Friday, May 7, to talk about recycling. That day the event will begin at 5:30 a.m.

The event is offered by the Resource Recovery and Energy Division of the Will County Land Use Department.

For additional information about RRE programs, go to willcountygreen.com.