A UK-wide scheme with its headquarters in Scotland aims to encourage schools to recycle while helping them raise money.

The Rag Bag recycling scheme seeks to raise awareness about textile recycling and help the environment by ensuring less material goes to landfill.

The scheme is free and schools are paid for every kilogramme of clothing they collect for recycling.

They can take part in three different ways:

- by organising one-off unwanted clothes collections which Rag Bag will pick up on an agreed date, weigh and, within a few days, send out a cheque;

- by applying for a free outdoor textile bank emptied by Rag Bag when it is full;

- by applying for an indoor clothing bin if there is no room for the outdoor option.

The textiles recycled through Rag Bag are sorted and graded at the UK’s largest textile recycling facility in Denny, central Scotland.

More than 200 trained people are employed to sort and grade over 600 tonnes of material every week, prior to exporting it around the world.

Good-quality clothing is transported to Africa and other developing nations; low-grade textiles are made into industrial wiping cloths.

www.rag-bag.co.uk.