Planet Aid Responds to GoLocalWorcester’s Story on Overflowing Clothing Bins

Friday, September 18, 2015

Patrick Sargent, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

On Wednesday, GoLocalWorcester reported on area residents complaining that donation bins owned by non-profit Planet Aid and other local companies are constantly used as dumping grounds in neighborhoods across the city.

As GoLocalWorcester reported, between fiscal years 2011 to 2013, Planet Aid Inc. has generated revenue of nearly $130 million - with FY2013’s revenue totaling $48.8 million. Over the same period of time (FY2011 to FY2013) Planet Aid, with a hub located in Milford, netted $5.6 million in income after expenses.

In response to GoLocalWorcester's story "Multi-Million Dollar Non-Profit Owns Overflowing Donation Bins in Worcester," Planet Aid Director of Communications John Nagiecki provided the following statement:

People in Worcester are right to be concerned about illegal dumping in their communities. We at Planet Aid share concerns and thought we’d share how we have been helping.

Planet Aid has approximately 4,500 bins serving New England. They are in neighborhoods ranging from some of the wealthiest to some of the poorest. We believe it is part of our mission to make clothing recycling available to people at various economic levels. Some areas have worse problems with dumping than others, but we’re always on the lookout for any issue with our bins. When there is a problem, we are on it. We are thankful for the outpouring of support that we get from the communities we operate in, and we honor that support by doing our level best to maintain our drop-off locations to the highest degree possible. We also invite community members to call us about concerns they have — all our bins are clearly labeled with phone numbers. We also respond via Facebook and on Twitter.

I also want to add that we have been thoroughly evaluated by the Better Business Bureau and are an accredited charity...We also participate on Guidestar, where we have been awarded the silver status for transparency.

We are responsible community members and support local groups, including the National Green School Society out of Mansfield. For more about our local events visit: http://www.planetaid.org/your-local-planet-aid/new-england

Convenience is a huge factor in getting the public to recycle more and we strive to make it as convenient as possible for everyone to recycle used textiles. Most people don't know where or how they can recycle the things they don't want (or don't want to travel far to do so).