When we think about recycling, old rags, stuffed animals and jeans aren’t usually what comes to mind.

The School Committee welcomed a representative from Bay State Textiles at Monday night’s meeting. Recycling Development Coordinator Kathryn Larsen pitched the organization as a way to curtail the loss of valuable resources while also providing the school district with extra revenue.

“There is a real problem with unwanted textiles in the U.S.,” Larsen said.

Bay State Textiles serves 49 school districts in the state. They collect a wide range of items that many may not immediately think of as reusable.

"Anything with fabric base," said Larsen.

Even stuffed animal stuffing can be reused in car seat stuffing, 40 percent of which is recycled, Larsen said.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, “more than 230,000 tons of usable textiles–including clothing, footwear, towels, bedding and other fabric-based products–were sent to landfills and incinerators in Massachusetts in 2010.” Five million pounds of textiles can be found in the garbage, nation-wide.

About 45 percent of textiles donated to Bay State are reused as clothes.

"Your holey socks, your ripped jeans are all too good for the trash," Larsen said.

If Bay State Textiles were to partner with Dartmouth, the organization would provide the district with all necessary equipment, including donation bins. Additionally, should there be any dumping, they would handle the removal of the unwanted items.

The district would benefit from rebates provided by Bay State, which would generate extra revenue to be put directly toward the schools. The town of Beverley, roughly the same size as Dartmouth, has been working with Bay State Textiles since 2013 and have generated about $18,000 in rebates from donations.

The School Committee was open to the idea, though committee member Chris Garth was hesitant when there are other not-for-profit organizations in the area that thrive off of donated clothes. Larsen assured him that they’ve rarely run into problems with other organizations and have even helped spur donations to other local donation-dependent organizations.

Committee member Dr. Shannon Jenkins said having two sons often leaves clothing and toys in a state that is less than ideal for donation to people in need. Bay State Textiles would provide a way to repurpose items that would be difficult to salvage.

A motion of support was passed unanimously by the School Committee.