Councilwoman moves to iron out problems with clothing-collection bins in Philly

A Philadelphia councilwoman wants city officials to take a closer look at the clothing collection bins that have recently popped up all over the Philadelphia area.

Councilwoman Cindy Bass has questions about how the bins to collect donated clothing appear virtually overnight throughout the city.

“All different vendors, all different colors, in different neighborhoods and all different locations,” she said of the proliferating bins. “The aim is to regulate this business and this practice.”

Bass proposes that each bin be equipped with an electronic ID tag to show who owns it — and how to contact the owner if there is an issue.

“You will often see a lot of these boxes that are stuffed, and you can’t get anything else in,” Bass said Thursday. “And people will leave piles and bags of clothes outside and around the box, which will stay for days weeks months.”

No hearing date for a bill regulating the bins has been set.