You probably noticed (well, how could you not?) the arrival of these PINK clothing collection boxes ... conveniently located in our favorite corners of the East Village...
BoweryBoogie noted that the clothing collection boxes, which belong to a Florida-based company called USAgain, also arrived on the Lower East Side.
They've been in Bayside, Queens longer. According to the Times Ledger there:
A woman who answered a call placed to the phone number on the box said Our Neighborhood Recycling ships the clothes overseas but hung up without giving more details. Community leaders said they fear whomever is placing the boxes around the neighborhood is taking the clothes donations and selling them for personal profit.
Anyway, the collection boxes are illegal. You can report them to the city here.
EVG reader Creature first alerted us to the arrival of these boxes on Friday ... after he spotted the lone red one on East Sixth Street near First Avenue ...
20 comments:
Bayside! Times Ledger!
It kind of feels like a Dr Who episode, like they are going to come alive and start eating people...
They SELL them overseas. This is a for-profit company, not a charitable organization. The clothing is graded, baled, and shipped overseas for sale, mostly to Africa.
They are also a public safety hazard for two reasons:
1. Anyone can hide anything in them and if nobody is monitoring them, then perhaps Homeland Security should be called.
2. You can go blind looking at that color
It explains why you see some rioting people in guinea bissau wearing Rays Pizza tshirts. Plus some 1%er gets a nice tax write off for your donation.
They are illegal? I have seen collection boxes all over bushwick (not pink though) and was really excited about them since I never have a place to get rid of my giveaways. How do you know which are illegal and which are legit?
It's a total scam. They have them where I work in East Harlem, too.
Donate at the green markets or salvation army. Maybe make some money at Buffalo exchange....these things are terrible.
Let's just start dumping trash and crap (used dog-poop bags) in them to protest.
That'll get rid of 'em.
People overseas don't want our donated clothes anymore. Clothes have become so cheap and disposable nobody knows what to do with them anymore.
I assumed they were Pod people send here to observe and take notes before they take over the world. I was like, Oh, cool. Our overlords are here."
Why are you and all these other people over reacting and suggesting crazy stupid things you're disgusting suggestion? The fact is all these clothes would otherwise get wasted because people are too lazy to take stuff to charity and that's no good to anybody. So what if somebody makes a profit at least good clothes are being reused rather than being put in the garbage and wasted, that would be so much more of a tragedy!
Hey Anon 2:16PM - How long have you worked for the company that profits from these boxes?
I'm kidding, I'm kidding...
But seriously, take your clothes some place that helps people locally. Also, if you have stuff that's not worth anything to anyone else there is textile recycling in TSP every Sunday until 4PM. They'll also take stuff you have that's in good shape - I assume they sift through stuff as well and make good usage out of it.
They are illegal only on public property which includes sidewalks. Some bodegas and schools have negotiated with some of the companies putting these out to put them on their private property surrounding their location which is definitely legit.
We caught the delivery truck putting out one of these bins outside my community garden in Brooklyn at midnight-1am during the winter. So they're doing this super sketchily. Some of the numbers on the bins don't get you anywhere, but the pink ones are from Viltex in Newark NJ (973) 732-5460. Sanitation marks them for removal and notifies the company, but has to wait 30 days to remove them.
why is it that people in nyc and America spend so much money and effort overseas but have an aversion to helping those here? how did this mentality get created? especially when, according to the un, most of the money and donations never get to the intended persons. I give my stuff to the bowery mission- I know it will go to help someone local- this is a for profit company- I hate these bins- id rather bring a bag of washed usable clothes to the mission or to the St francis on 31st-
According to something I saw on GrowNYC, these collection boxes are completely illegal.
Bring textiles, clothes and shoes to Tompkins sq. Greenmarket on sundays. 7th st side. and donate for recycling to wearable collections. (Union square too check which days).
Tonight, at the one on the corner of Henry and Montgomery, there was a big sticker affixed to the front, placed by the sanitation department. It has a big red stop sign and says: Stop! Do not place any clothing in this bin....This bin has been has been placed here in violation of local law no. 31 and has been tagged for removal."
Its says RECYCLING on the side, how is that dishonest? I dont see anything saying "non profit" I could see if one said it was a donation, its just a way of reusing them instead of putting them in a landfill
How are they supposed to pay to truck this stuff around so it can be reused? It does a service to the environment, and pays for itself giving poor people jobs, whats with the outrage?
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