Two young Canberra sisters are collecting 10,000 socks that would otherwise go to landfill in an attempt to reduce their impact on the environment.
Emma and Olivia Harris are still in primary school, but they are on a mission to encourage better recycling within their community.
Their idea to collect socks started in lockdown last year, when the family watched a number of documentaries to pass the time — including some about about textile recycling.
"It started with Olivia wanting to know [things like] what is landfill? Where does our rubbish actually go when the bin man picks it up?," mum Cheryl Harris said.
"I remember sitting on the couch with Olivia and she was crying because she didn't realise that when you put things in the kerbside bin, it gets buried and buried and buried, and we're going to run out of room.
Initially, most of the socks in Emma and Olivia's collection came from charity bins and people they knew in the community.
But an interview last weekend with ABC Radio Canberra led to Ms Harris receiving more than 300 emails from people across the territory, wanting to donate their socks and other materials for recycling to Emma and Olivia's cause.
"In the last week we've gotten 1,352 socks and that's just from ten people, from ten donations," Ms Harris said.
Ms Harris also has family and friends in Newcastle and Adelaide collecting socks to add to the girls' growing pile, and she believes they will surpass their 10,000 target sooner rather than later.
From odd socks to pillows and pet beds
Once they reach their 10,000 target, the Harris family will send the socks to Upparel — a Melbourne-based company who turn textile waste into stuffing for items such as pillows and pet beds.
"I've learned that so [many] things can be recycled but we don't recycle them, and we send things to other countries so they can deal with it," Olivia said.
Michael Elias, the founder and CEO of Upparel textile recycling, said stories like Emma and Olivia's are what keeps him motivated.
"Reducing waste starts with children, and the more education that we can provide, the greater awareness that we can create at such a young age, the better the future is going to be," he said.
"Children take what they learn and take that home and share that with their parents and the older generation; it's a two-way communication.
Mr Elias said the key to changing consumer habits is to create awareness — exactly like Emma and Olivia are doing with their socks.
"Textile waste is an enormous problem, but it's a problem we haven't been conscious of, so it's about creating greater awareness," he said.
"What those girls have done, and what they continue to do, is move and divert mountains of landfill.
As far as Olivia and Emma are concerned, they're just pleased to be doing something to help encourage recycling.
"It makes me feel very proud that we're doing this for the community," Olivia said.
