APIEReading: Textile Waste in the UK
Decluttering and second-hand things
Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.
How to use this lesson
For the teacher:
Give students 15 minutes to read the short text and answer the 8 IELTS-style questions.
Check the answers together using the short evidence lines provided after each question.
For the learner:
First, read through each paragraph once to understand what happens to unwanted clothes in the UK.
Next, answer each question carefully by checking the exact details instead of guessing from single words.
Where Do Our Old Clothes Really Go?
A closer look at used textiles and recycling across the United Kingdom.
Have you ever wondered what happens when we clear out our wardrobes? In the UK, a charity called WRAP works on waste and resources to find out. They found that in 2022, shoppers bought 1.42 million tonnes of brand-new textile products, including everyday clothes and sheets. During the same year, the country also produced about 1.45 million tonnes of used textiles.
WRAP also shared numbers showing what happened to all that unwanted cloth in 2022. Around 276,000 tonnes were sold directly to the public in second-hand shops. At the same time, around 650,000 tonnes went into reuse and recycling instead of being sent away for disposal.
A large part of these textiles did not stay at home. According to WRAP, used textiles also left the country in significant amounts. In 2022, about 421,600 tonnes of used items were exported abroad after British households finished with them.
Even with so many items getting a second life, huge numbers still end up in the bin. Figures from WRAP reveal that in 2021, around 711,000 tonnes of used textiles were simply thrown into household bins and general waste containers.
Questions 1–2: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information in the reading passage? Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information, FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
1. In 2022, people in the UK generated more used textiles than the amount of new textile products they purchased.
2. The charity WRAP found that exporting used clothes produced higher financial profits than selling them in local second-hand shops.
Questions 3–4: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.
3. What does the writer show about the handling of used textiles in Paragraph B?
4. What is the writer's main view regarding used textiles in the passage?
Questions 5–6: Which Paragraph Contains This Information?
The reading passage has four paragraphs, A–D. Which paragraph contains the following information? Choose the correct letter, A–D.
5. Specific quantities of old textiles that were sent out of the United Kingdom.
6. A comparison between the total weight of new cloth items bought and used items created in the same year.
Questions 7–8: Sentence Completion
Complete the sentences below. Choose ONE WORD AND/OR A NUMBER from the passage for each answer.
7. In 2022, approximately __________ tonnes of unwanted textiles were sold directly back to the public.
8. WRAP reports that in 2021, around 711,000 tonnes of discarded textiles were put straight into __________ bins and general waste containers.
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