Last year, we posted about the metal donation boxes that aren’t as charitable as one might think, with companies like Green Tree re-selling up to 97% of donated clothing for “reprocessing.” DNAinfo reports that the New York Department of Sanitation removed 57 of these illegally-installed boxes from the streets in the past nine months.
While people are becoming aware of the fact that the coats they drop down that metal chute aren’t going to be warming the less-fortunate fellow New Yorkers, but will instead be sold for profit and “reprocessed” as building insulation abroad somewhere, these bins are popping up at a rapid rate.
Even Viltex, the company behind somewhat legit-looking bright blue bins stenciled with their intentions to “provide money to charities” and “give to employees’ occupation,” does not actually offer any information about what charities they are donating to on their website or responding to inquiries. (Image: Ditmas Park Corner)
