two members of our Re-Source team, Brigid Bloomfield and Jackie Roberts, cuddling lots of clean, fluffy, re-made pillows.
two members of our Re-Source team, Brigid Bloomfield and Jackie Roberts, cuddling lots of clean, fluffy, re-made pillows.
Local charity Re-Source has picked up more than 1200 pillows destined for the dump and given them new life to help those who need it most in the Hawke’s Bay community.
The charity works on a referral system and receives a steady stream of referrals for pillows, but very few pre-loved pillows arrive in a condition suitable for re-homing.
Re-Source general manager Nadine Rees Gaunt explained that pillows contribute to the total 180,000 tonnes of clothing and textiles dumped in New Zealand annually.
“We knew stained pillows were being sent to landfills and felt there had to be a way to rejuvenate them,” Rees Gaunt said.
Remaking and giving new life to 1220 pillows wasn’t a small job, and as a charity Re-Source needed a lot of outside help from other organisations and groups.
Donated pillows are ready to be cleaned up as part of the Re-Source pillow project.
Once a month, Re-Source would collect torn hotel sheets from Diamond Apparelmaster, and those sheets would be picked up from the Re-Source depot by Kōwhai Special School.
Kōwhai school is developing leadership and work experience roles for students with special needs. As part of that, the students would dry, fold, sort and pack the sheets into bundles.
After the sheets are returned to Re-Source, a significant portion is delivered to the HB Curtain Bank, where the coordinator, Bonnie Plested, and her team use them to line curtains that are donated to people in need.
The remaining sheets, along with stained pillows, are sent to HB Regional Prison. The prison team washes and dries the pillows, discards the old covers, and sews new ones from the torn sheets.
Once the pillows have been remade at the prison, they are returned to Re-Source for rehoming through partner agencies.
“We have very limited space and no laundry facilities at the depot, so we were over the moon when HB Regional Prison stepped up to make this idea a reality,” Rees Gaunt said.
Van load of ripped hotel sheets Re-Source collected for its recycled pillow project.
Some people may have issues with reusing discarded pillows, especially if they have visual staining. The Re-Source general manager said hygiene is a “valid concern, and that is exactly why replacing the covers is not enough”.
She added: “All the pillows go through the same procedure as prison laundry where the entire pillow goes through one of their massive washing machines.
“The pillows are then clean but still appear stained and unsightly. Discarding the stained covers and making new ones from the torn sheets ensures they are clean, inside and out.”
Re-Source and everyone who has helped along the way has re-made 1222 pillows in a single year, and the charity hopes that the pillow project will be ongoing with help from the collaboration organisations.
If you are interested in What Re-Source does, you can follow the charity on its Facebook page.
Volunteering is always welcome, whether it’s sewing, sorting donations or helping with other projects. Donations of goods and financial support are crucial.
“Zero waste does not mean zero cost, and we welcome sponsors who are keen to engage with this unique combination of community and environmental support,” Rees Gaunt said.
The Re-Source depot is not open to the public. The charity collects for free, and has a drop-off point in Hastings.
Re-Source does not donate directly to the public; all items that are given to the public are made via a referral from a front-line worker, and the charity will deliver on behalf.
Maddisyn Jeffares became the editor of the Hawke’s Bay community papers Hastings Leader and Napier Courier in 2023 after writing at the Hastings Leader for almost a year. She has been a reporter with NZME for almost three years and has a strong focus on what’s going on in communities, good and bad, big and small. Email news tips to her at: maddisyn.jeffares@nzme.co.nz
