Editor’s Note: We received this intriguing question from a Scouting leader, how do you recycle a flag while respecting it appropriately.

When an American flag is worn, faded, or tattered, it should be retired with respect. But what happens next? Most modern flags are made from synthetic materials like nylon and polyester, which release toxic fumes if burned. Textile recycling offers a respectful way to honor both the flag and the environment.

The U.S. Flag Code was created when most flags were made of cotton, wool, or silk, and it recommends burning as the main retirement method. However, times have changed. Now, about 90% of outdoor American flags are made from synthetic materials.

• Nylon flags are lightweight, quick-drying, and fly beautifully in light breezes. They’re the most popular choice for residential flagpoles.
• Polyester flags are heavier and more durable, designed for high-wind environments and commercial use. Many feature a two-ply construction that mimics the look of traditional cotton.
• Cotton flags remain available but are primarily used for indoor displays, ceremonies, and military honors. They’re susceptible to mildew and sun damage when flown outdoors.
• Blended materials combine cotton and polyester, offering durability with a traditional appearance.

Why Burning Isn’t Always the Best Option

When nylon and polyester burn, they release harmful pollutants, including carbon monoxide. Nylon also emits hydrogen cyanide, which is toxic to the heart and brain. These materials often melt rather than burn cleanly, producing black smoke and leaving residue.

Municipal fire codes during the era of massive wildfires often restrict open burning, making traditional flag retirement ceremonies impossible for many households.

Incinerators aren’t readily available to people, and burning synthetic materials in a fire pit doesn’t achieve the complete combustion required for proper disposal.

The Ceremonial Separation Method

Before recycling, you can hold a meaningful retirement ritual to ensure the flag is no longer considered a flag, preparing it for recycling. This honors the spirit of the Flag Code by providing dignified destruction and also addresses today’s environmental concerns.

How to ceremonially separate your flag:

1. Lay the flag flat with the blue star field (the canton or union) in the upper left corner.
2. Without cutting into the blue field, make a vertical cut to divide it into two sections. The left piece will include the blue canton with the stripes below it; the right piece will contain only red and white stripes.
3. Separate each of the 13 stripes from one another.
4. The blue field should remain intact, symbolizing our indivisible union. Tradition holds that it should remain intact even as the stripes are separated, maintaining the symbolic indivisibility of our nation.

Once separated, the material is no longer considered an official flag. The fabric pieces can now be recycled.

The Challenge of Textile Recycling

Recycling textiles, especially blended materials, is technically challenging. Different types of fibers need different processing methods.

Natural fibers like cotton can be mechanically shredded and respun into new yarn, or broken down and used as insulation, furniture stuffing, or industrial rags.

Synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon can, in theory, be chemically processed back into their base polymers for remanufacturing, though this technology is still in the early stages of scaling.

Blended fabrics are the hardest to recycle because their tightly woven fibers must be separated before processing. This is a complex and costly process. Cotton-polyester blends, common in some flags, require specialized chemical separation methods.

If you separate your flag by color and material type before sending it to a recycler, you help make the recycling process more efficient.

Mail-In Textile Recycling Services

Several reputable mail-in recycling services accept textiles including retired flag materials:

Retold Recycling: Backed by Mark Cuban after appearing on Shark Tank, Retold Recycling provides prepaid mailing bags for textile recycling. Fill the bag with your flag materials (up to 5 pounds), seal it, and drop it in any mailbox. Retold’s partners sort materials for reuse, donation, or recycling, ensuring that nothing goes to landfill. Single bags start around $15.

Trashie Take Back Bag: Trashie bags hold up to 15 pounds of textiles and include prepaid UPS shipping. The company rewards participants with “TrashieCash” credits redeemable at partner brands. Their sorting facilities determine whether items are suitable for reuse, donation, or fiber recycling. The company offers unlimited mail-in recycling bags and boxes for $98 a year.

TerraCycle Zero Waste Box: TerraCycle’s Fabrics and Clothing Zero Waste Box accepts any textile or fabric-based product. While more expensive than other options—from $168 to $379, depending on the size—TerraCycle offers detailed processing information and a range of box sizes for different needs. Their sorting process separates natural fibers (recycled into insulation or “shoddy”) from synthetics (processed into recycled plastic blends or new textile materials).

Step-by-Step: Retiring and Recycling Your Flag

1. Check your flag to see if it really needs to be retired. If it is just dirty, you can wash it. Minor fraying can sometimes be fixed.
2. Find out what material your flag is made of by checking any labels or tags. Nylon flags are shiny and lightweight. Polyester flags are heavier and look more matte. Cotton flags feel natural and have a softer drape.
3. Carry out the ceremonial separation as described above, and treat the process with respect. Some families choose to recite the Pledge of Allegiance or have a moment of silence.
4. Sort the pieces by material type if your flag uses different fabrics. For example, the embroidered stars might be made from a different material than the rest of the flag.
5. Package the materials in a mail-in textile recycling bag from Retold Recycling, Trashie, or TerraCycle, following the service’s instructions.

Other Options for Flag Retirement

If you prefer not to handle the retirement yourself, several organizations accept worn flags:

• American Legion and VFW posts conduct regular retirement ceremonies and often have drop boxes for worn flags.
• Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops perform flag retirements as part of civic education.
• Local fire departments and police stations frequently collect flags for proper disposal.
• Some retailers, including select Walmart and Home Depot locations, have flag drop boxes.

For large flags that cannot be safely burned whole, these organizations typically cut them into manageable pieces before conducting ceremonies.

Honoring the Symbol and the Planet

The American flag stands for important ideals, including tolerance for others’ opinions, liberty, justice, and stewardship of the land. When we retire a flag with care, thinking about both its meaning and its materials, we honor everything it represents.

The Flag Code’s language, which suggests that a flag should be “destroyed in a dignified way, preferably by burning,” reflects 1942 sensibilities about materials and environmental awareness. Today, a dignified textile recycling process that keeps synthetic materials out of landfills and our atmosphere may better serve both the flag’s honor and our nation’s future.

Your worn flag once flew proudly. Now its fibers can be used again, whether as insulation to keep a family warm, as material for new textiles, or as part of a more circular economy. That is a retirement worthy of Old Glory.