TOMS RIVER: We all have driven past random clothing donation bins in our travels. Mostly these hulking metal bins are scattered around shopping centers and parking lots. Usually they are convenient, and a great way to help others with clothing and shoes we can reuse. When you donate anything to these bins- be sure to check who operates the charity. Many times bins that don’t have a reputable charity or organization on them can be a mystery as to whom receives the donated goods. Just because the metal bins look like they are going to needy people doesn’t mean that necessarily. OCSN has more on this for a future story, but you can Google stories of some bins being run for profit, with our donated clothing being sold overseas. Aside from the clothing aspect- you get stories of homeless living inside them to stay warm and dry. Then you get the illegal dumping; which is the point of this marvelous article. People now feel they can “donate” anything they want from their houses by just leaving it next to a bin for someone else to clean up. This results in a dirty, ugly, and unsanitary condition in various parking lots throughout our area that have these unmaintained bins.

Pictures below were taken by OCSN staff today to show how filthy these areas can be. Towards the bottom is the crown jewel- a discarded commode and television where someone actually pooped onto the parking lot by using the old commode. YES, you heard us right! Someone sat on this dirty broken commode and defecated as if they were using an actual toilet. Maybe time to schedule a deep cleaning of this parking lot?

Toms River Police sponsored donation bins at Indian Head Plaza in TR.

The point of this particular story by OCSN is to spotlight the garbage and illegal dumping these bins generate. All of them warn donators to NOT leave any items outside the bins in the parking lot, and most specify ONLY clothing or shoes. Even stickers warning people not to dump illegally, with a logo of the Toms River Police sticker doesn’t scare criminals today! These particular donation bins are at the Indian Head Plaza in Toms River, and they are disgusting. While Toms River Police have NOTHING to do with the cleanliness and/or maintenance of these metal donation bins, they can urge the property owner to actually clean it up.

Discarded paint cans; Huffers or illegal dumping?
Signs don’t apply to people because they usually can’t read
Flat screen TV and a broken commode greet the far corner of the lot
YES! Someone actually used this commode to defecate in the parking lot
Additional random trash tossed around the bin area
Not all clothing collection bins are about good will