Amnesty called... for coat hangers
Research has shown that hangers are running riot in the country’s bedrooms and wardrobes. Up to 50 million are thought to be at large in Irish homes and a fifth of these end up in the landfill as space-pressed householders try to keep control over their numbers.
There was a time when most stores automatically threw a hanger in with a new purchase, but no more.
Marks and Spencer has taken the lead in the fight against the humble hanger. It is to operate an amnesty that will allow householders to bring in their plastic hangers so the store can recycle them.
It is estimated the average person has 67 hangers lurking about in their home and 18% of these are not used, so often end up in the bin. The only problem is culchies will have to hang onto their hangers as the amnesty is only being held in one Irish store — the flagship Marks and Spencer at Liffey Valley in Dublin.
The amnesty takes place from September 20-22 and it is not just confined to M&S hangers. M&S spokesman Guy Farrant said M&S has been reusing and recycling its hangers for 15 years, but has found many customers simply do not know what to do with their unwanted hangers.
Since 1992, Mr Farrant claims it recycled one billion of them, thereby reducing the country’s landfills by 32,000 tonnes — it takes 100 years for one hanger to degrade.
All intact hangers will be shipped back to garment manufacturers to be reused, while damaged ones are ground down into pellets to be turned back into hangers. As part of its zero tolerance policy, M&S say even the metal hooks will be melted down and reused.
So before you go to bed tonight, don’t forget to check under the bed and at the back of your wardrobe.
It is official. The country’s doors are not open to hangers-on any more.
