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Pasco commission introduces measure to regulate donation bins

 
Published Sept. 28, 2016

NEW PORT RICHEY — Pasco County is beginning its crackdown on illegal dumping at donation bins that are portrayed as charitable giving locations, but which have proliferated into an unregulated and unsightly industry.

On Tuesday, commissioners voted unanimously to introduce an ordinance that would require bin owners to obtain county permits, limit the size of and locations for the containers, and provide other safeguards to discourage vandalism and refuse dumping.

The impetus came from Commissioner Mike Moore, who photographed a bin on Ancient Oaks Boulevard, near the entrance to the Seven Oaks development, in February. The white box included no telephone number, business name or identified nonprofit beneficiary and had become cluttered with discarded kitchen appliances, plumbing, living room chairs, rolled-up rugs, mattresses and box springs. The bin was removed after Moore brought attention to it.

Clothing bins are a fixture of the estimated $1 billion-a-year business of reusing clothing and textiles as secondhand apparel, wiping and polishing rags and for furniture manufacturing, according to the Maryland-based trade group SMART, Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles.

Moore told the board on Tuesday about a bin sitting along a private service road connecting to State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel.

"Talk about an eyesore; it was miserable,'' Moore said.

Unable to reach the bin's owner, the county's code enforcement staff cleaned up the site, said Moore, "but that's on the taxpayers' back. It was private property.''

The county borrowed some of SMART's suggestions in crafting its proposed ordinance, which will require recyclers to obtain written approval from the landowner, a site plan showing the bin location and information on when the bin will be emptied and how it will be maintained.

Bins will be prohibited on rights of way or public easements, and on developed but unoccupied sites. Bin doors must face away from the public right of way and must be locked to discourage vandalism.

The number of bins around the county is unknown because they are unregulated. The containers typically are in highly visible, high-traffic locations like shopping center and convenience store pocking lots. Others, however, sit on unpaved areas in close proximity to road shoulders.

Some are legitimate boxes benefiting charities. Earlier this year, Suncoast Textile recycling of Clearwater said it had seven boxes in Pasco benefiting Habitat for Humanity of East and Central Pasco. The donated clothing is sold by the pound for recycling overseas, and the proceeds are split between the company and its charity partners. Other boxes simply say "Donate'' and list no charitable agency as the beneficiary.

"We want legitimate charities to continue receiving donations,'' said Moore. "The problem are the ones that aren't charities.''

Public hearings on the proposed ordinance are scheduled for Oct. 11 in Dade City and Oct. 25 in New Port Richey.