Many donation boxes an unsightly scam
Few of these illegal tenants in parking lots comply with city bylaws
Clothing donation boxes seem to be claiming squatter’s rights at half of the parking lots in the city.
It’s been a year since we reported on an infestation of clothing boxes, most of which are owned by shady operators claiming to be a charity, to create the illusion that donated clothes are going to a good cause.
But the charity is usually limited to well-intended people who drop clothes into them, not realizing that proceeds from resale of the stuff ends up in the pockets of the opera- tors. If anything, there are even more now than a year ago, which we were reminded of when we spotted a box with bags of clothing piled around in a vacant lot at Old Kingston Rd. and Morrish Rds.
The clothes were likely dumped by someone who couldn’t be bothered to stuff them into it, while other people add to the litter problem by using the boxes to “donate” junk that ends up littering the area around them.
Aside from the questionable intentions of the operators, hardly any of the boxes comply with a city bylaw that says they can only be placed on a property with permission of the owner.
It’s hard to determine who owns the vacant lot on Old Kingston Rd. where the box with clothes piled around it is, but we’d be willing to bet a week’s pay that the property owner didn’t authorize it. The sign on the box says it is “100% charity,” but makes no mention of the percentage of clothing that is donated to charitable organiza- tions, as required by the bylaw. There is also no mention of a website associated with the alleged charity on the sign, and an Internet search of its name turned up nothing. To prevent complaints to the city about litter, most of the box operators are conscientious about cleaning up any mess left around them; the bags in the vacant lot will probably be gone in a day or two, if they aren’t already. But the city’s municipal licensing and standards doesn’t put much effort into enforcing the bylaw, partly because its investigators are stretched too thin to find out if boxes are on properties with the permission of owners. Until it does, the shady operators will continue to put their boxes almost anywhere they want. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. go to thestar.com/ the fixer and click on “submit a problem.” Call us at 416-869-4823. To read our blog, click on “blogs” at thestar.com home page, or go to thestar.blogs.com/ the fixer. Tweet us at TOStarFixer.