New Delhi, Sept. 13 -- More than 41 tonnes of old clothes have been collected at 10 Arpan Centres set up at Delhi Metro stations, with the discarded garments being reused, upcycled and recycled into useful products, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Sunday.
As of August 31, a total of 3,940 people had deposited 41,181.59 kg of clothes at the centres. The highest collection was recorded at Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital Metro station at 9,861.40 kg, followed by Shalimar Bagh at 9,761.03 kg.
Punjabi Bagh West collected 6,534.98 kg, while Shahdara received 6,386.08 kg. The remaining centres are at Mayur Vihar-I, Hauz Khas, Dwarka-Kakrola, Malviya Nagar, Lajpat Nagar and Mohan Estate.
According to the Delhi government, around 4,266 kg of the collected material has been earmarked for reuse and upcycling, while 29,424 kg has been sent for recycling.
Self-help groups are using the collected clothes to make products including rugs, folders, key rings, pouches, bags and torans. These products are also being displayed and sold at the centres. The 10 centres have recorded total sales of Rs.27,036 so far.
Five Arpan Centres were launched on August 3, while the remaining centres became operational on August 12 and 17.
The government has proposed opening 10 more centres in January 2027 at Model Town, INA, IP Extension, Paschim Vihar West, Rajendra Place, Janakpuri West, Rajouri Garden, Greater Kailash, Dwarka Sector 10 and Chhatarpur Metro stations.
Calling the initiative an effective way to utilise old clothes, Gupta said, "The participation of Delhi residents can help expand this system further.
Our effort is to make it easy and convenient for people to donate old clothes and ensure their maximum utilisation, thereby further strengthening efforts to make Delhi cleaner, more beautiful and greener."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.