IVECO helps E-Threads keep old clothes out of landfill

Family-owned textiles recycling group E-Thread aims to use its fleet of 10 IVECO Daily 50 vans to minimise the estimated 6000kg of clothes Australians send to landfill every 10 minutes.

E-Threads is a family-owned business offering clothing recovery programs using a network of collection bins spread across Victoria, NSW and Queensland, with plans to soon expand into Queensland.

The group has experienced strong growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, where travel restrictions and falling numbers of volunteers meant many organisations that upcycled clothing had to either reduce collections or stop them altogether.

E-Threads director Zac Banks is one of four brothers overseeing the business. He said the group operated completely transparently and even offered tracking of donated clothing, ensuring all donated items were either reused here or overseas, repurposed or recycled with “zero waste”.

“Our service begins with the regular and careful maintenance of our collection bins to eliminate unsightly overflow,” Banks said.

“When the IVECO Dailys arrive at the collection points, the garments are collected, photographed and stored in customised compartments within the vans, before being taken to our sorting facilities.

“The garments are then unloaded, weighed and hand-sorted. Depending on their grading, they’re sold to shops and markets (A and B grade), and what doesn’t make it (C grade) are cut into rags to be used as stuffing, for cleaning, or used to make items like tote bags.

“The cataloguing also gives us an understanding of the volumes each collection point is generating and we can adjust collection frequency that’s specific to that bin; it varies from twice daily to four times per week.”

The IVECO Daily vans used for collections are fitted with 180hp Euro6 engines and use an eight-speed automatic transmission.

E-Thread uses the 16-cubic-metre version of the vans to balance payload with maneuverability in car parks and other restrictive collection zones.

“Having a vehicle that was car-like to drive, that could be used on a car licence and still gave a payload of around two tonnes was attractive for us,” Banks said.

“The Daily is versatile in that it can handle the busy city streets and metro areas, going just about everywhere a car can. 

“They also provide good loading access and are comfortable on longer routes where they can cover over 600 kilometres in a day. They’ve been a reliable van for us, and the drivers enjoy using them.”

E-Threads bought its IVECO Daily fleet from IVECO Sydney. Banks said E-Threads had enjoyed a great relationship with the dealership.

“The team at IVECO Sydney are fantastic to work with, especially Antonio who is the representative we deal with for everything,” he said. 

“We receive quick response times and great service when it comes to service and parts.”