Grand Jury: Mysterious Donation Bins A Problem For Charities, Businesses
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) — Donation bins are being placed outside of some local businesses, but no one knows where they came from, or where the donations go.
Some of the legitimate charitable donations sites in San Joaquin County say the bin blight hurts them, and ultimately the people who need the help.
RELATED: Grand Jury: Cities Need To Tackle Problematic For-Profit Donation Boxes
Goodwill says some of the for-profit donation boxes even bear their colors—blue and white. They're afraid people may be thinking they're donating to Goodwill, when in fact they're not.
"We've had boxes placed in our own parking lot near our store and that's very confusing for our donors," said marketing director Sally Wooden.
A San Joaquin civil grand jury report said the bins are a big problem. The unmanned for-profit bins will often resell donated goods overseas and not pay state taxes.
Wooden says Goodwill's donations dropped 7 percent last year, leading her to wonder if the mystery bins are partly to blame. Goodwill needs the donations to provide job-training services.
"We provide work services for people with disabilities, or lack of work experience," she said.
The grand jury report also says cities in San Joaquin County also don't have ways for code enforcement to regulate the bins that show up on private property.