Donation Bin Clutter Draws Attention Of Medford City Council

MEDFORD, MA — Clutter from donation containers is a blight on properties in Medford, but nowhere more so than at the Fellsway Shopping Plaza, according to the City Council. Councilors unanimously passed a resolution last week opting to send a cease and desist letter if it did not hear back from the building and health officials about the bin.

"It looks like a dump," Councilor George Scarpelli, who introduced the original resolution asking the Health Department and Code Enforcement officer to examine the site, said. "The intent is well-meant, but I think the execution of it has to be done with a little more respect for the abutters and the people that will be using the secondhand clothing and such."

According to Scarpelli, the container was originally meant solely for clothes, but people have started "coming all hours of the night, just throwing things over the fence and leaving broken furniture."

The conversation shifted to additional containers – Councilor Richard Caraviello mentioned having the Health Department also look at the Planet Aid bin on Mystic Avenue – and the Council discussed regulating donation drop boxes through a permitting process.

"The [Mystic Avenue container] has been snowed on," Caraviello said. "Anything there now is pretty much garbage now."

Communities that regulate donation containers have ordinances ranging from requiring them to be manned to mandating owner, contact and size information on the side of the bin, according to the City Council. Councilor Michael Marks said the bin at the Fellsway is manned "at least six days a week."

"It's a full-fledged business that they're running out of the parking lot," Marks said. "We really have to regulate this." If the owner of a donation container is not the property owner, the bin should not be there, Marks added.

According to Councilor Adam Knight, a draft ordinance regulating drop boxes was introduced in 2018 but was met with some opposition from people running school and clothing drives. The city does regulate bins used during home improvements and requires homeowners to obtain a permit before putting one in their yard.

Councilor Zac Bears said he was "incredibly surprised at the size of the pile and the condition of [the Fellsway bin]." He supported taking a closer look at regulating donation containers but emphasized the need to address the Fellsway one immediately.

The measure passed 7-0 Jan. 14.