Austin residents' old clothes and housewares can soon be picked up at their curbs along with their trash and recycling. Austin Resource Recovery is launching a free new service for curbside customers beginning Dec. 5. Recyclable clothes and housewares include shoes, accessories, fabric scraps, stuffed toys, linens, tools, toys, hats, purses, kitchenware and books. “This new service is a step in the right direction to help us get on track to meet our benchmarks for Zero Waste,” said Bob Gedert, Austin Resource Recovery director. “The most recent figures show our diversion rate is about 42 percent, so if we hope to meet our next benchmark—keeping 75 percent of waste out of landfills by 2020—we are asking all customers to use this program to ensure these materials are not going to the landfill.” Local curbside customers send about 3,322 tons of textiles to Austin landfills each year, according to a 2014 study. Residents who do not receive curbside services from Austin Resource Recovery, such as apartment dwellers, can participate by dropping off clothing and housewares at the city's Recycle & Reuse Drop-Off Center, 2514 Business Center Drive. Visit www.austinrecycles.com for more information.