The Best Thing That Happened This Week: The Great Clothing-Bin Crackdown

istock.com/Peter Burnett

You’ve seen them — those metal dumpsters stamped with the names of dubious charities. The ones that litter the sidewalks, their open maws leaking ratty sweaters and stretched-out sweatpants, their environs blighted by piles of pawed-through rags. They’re the embodiment of “eyesore,” a kick in the teeth to caring citizens who sweep the stoop and tidy the garden and bag the dog poop but see their efforts at neighborhood improvement flouted by absentee “textile recyclers” that install these monstrosities but never seem to return to gather up the donations they attract. This week, the city started crushing and hauling away 70 of the nuisance bins as the first phase in a citywide crackdown — and neighbors watched and cheered.

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