Since 1997, Laboratorio Triciclo is a non-profit cooperative committed to recovering, reusing and recycling second-hand products (furniture, domestic appliances and clothes), bulky waste, electronic waste and hazardous materials from private households. Moreover, together with applying the key principles of Circular Economy, their mission is to provide work opportunities and integration to people with socio-economic difficulties. 

In 2020, in the district of the city of Bergamo, 2,752 tonnes of textile waste (2.5 kg pro capita) were generated, accounting for 0.7% of the total amount of waste produced. However, since the 1st of January 2022 in Italy, is mandatory to collect and recycle textile waste (legislative decree 116/2020), minimizing the amount that ends up in landfills. 

Laboratorio Triciclo is stretching the lifetime of unwanted or unused textiles and other products that might otherwise end up in landfills. The cooperative collects those products from private donors without charging any fee, and after creating a detailed inventory, they set up a marketplace in their warehouse. Soon, as stated by one of the contributors, the physical marketplace will be available as an online platform, expanding the customer base.

Apart from the textile waste, the cooperative is also committed to collecting waste that requires to be disposed of in proper waste plants (exhausted oil, printer toner, etc.).

The cooperative collects on average 950 tonnes of clothes per year, offering a stable income and a permanent contract to several employees. As stated in their report for 2020, the cooperative collected 820,567 kg of textiles, most of which were sold in their marketplace.

Additionally, the cooperative collected and recovered 19,758 kg of printer toner; 32,410 kg of exhausted oils; 111,230 kg of bulky waste; 4,200 kg of electronic waste and more.

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.