Suffolk Public Library began its denim recycling drive on Thursday, in partnership with Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia. This drive will collect denim items ranging from jackets to jeans of any color and will run until Sept. 15.

Donations will be accepted at all three library locations: Morgan Memorial Library at 443 W. Washington St., North Suffolk Library at 2000 Bennetts Creek Park Road and Chuckatuck Library at 5881 Godwin Blvd.

North Suffolk Library will have a Tall Blue Bin for donations, while blue collection barrels will be at the Morgan Memorial and Chuckatuck libraries.

Goodwill will then resell or recycle the denim to support its mission of providing workforce development services and helping people secure and maintain sustainable employment, according to the press release.

Goodwill will also provide a cash prize to Friends of the Suffolk Public Library for every pound of denim collected.

“Literacy and employment go hand in hand, and we are pleased to partner with the Suffolk Public Library on this project,” Roger Fournier, donations manager for Goodwill, stated in the press release.

According to Planetaid.org, the average American throws out about 82 pounds of textile waste annually, which amounts to 11 million tons of waste produced every year in the United States alone.

Last year, Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia collected more than 50 million pounds of goods and kept more than 40 million pounds out of landfills, according to the press release.

“Partnering with Goodwill for the Denim Drive raises awareness of recycling and encourages folks to clean out the closet and give their unwanted denim a new lease on life,” Wayne Jones of Keep Suffolk Beautiful wrote in an email.

Visit suffolkpubliclibrary.com for more information.