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Boston begins curbside pickup of old clothes, curtains, towels and throw rugs
By adamg on Fri, 02/11/2022 - 9:35am
The mayor's office announced today that residents can now schedule weekend curbside pickup of clothing and textiles right outside their homes.
Residents looking to schedule a pick-up can simply fill-out an online request form. Once a date is scheduled and confirmed, household textiles should be left on the curb by 7:00 a.m. on the scheduled pick-up day. Textiles should be clean, dry, and properly bagged to allow for a quick pick-up for Helpsy drivers. Acceptable textile items include dresses, shirts, pants, suits, coats, towels, bedding, costumes, curtains, placements, tablecloths and throw rugs.
Don't even think of trying to sneak any breakable houseware, electronics, furniture, construction material or appliances in with your old shirts, though.
The curbside pickup is in addition to the drop-off boxes that were already in place, as part of the city's effort to both recycle stuff and reduce the city's waste-disposal costs.
Neighborhoods:
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Comments
I have a bunch of kids coats
Ive been putting off cleaning out the front hall closet. Time to get on that.
Same with the dumpsters.
Same with the dumpsters. Homeless will go through it. Throw it all around and leave the street a mess and we will get a ticket.
Probably not
Yeah, they will go through bags on trash days. But for this service, since you have to schedule your pickups (not just 'everyone put stuff on the curb on Saturday) - on any given Saturday I'm not sure if there would be enough bags in a neighborhood for the homeless to find
This is great!
I have a bunch of clothing I need to donate. I'm moving (after being in the same place for 20 years, yikes!), and I bought some office-appropriate clothes just before the pandemic hit that has never even been worn. It'll be much easier just arranging to have it picked up rather than dragging it to a bin.
Thanks Helpsy!
I put about 10 bags out this morning, and they just swung by and picked them up. Easy peasy, and I'm glad that stuff will go to good use rather than a landfill.
FYI for other sewists/quilters/etc
Per twitter, Helpsy's program also accepts scrap fabric waste! Not all "textile recycling" does so I've been very happy to be able to drop off all my tiny bitty scraps and keep them out of the trash.
"Any old rags?"
"Any old rags?"
Textile recycling or intact donations?
It wasn't clear (at least to me, and based on some of the comments here) which type of program this is.
If folks have clothing that is wearable, isn't it probably better to donate it to programs like Boomerangs or Dress for Success where it can be used as-is, and save this program for things that are not usable and are ready to be recycled? Boomerangs will also take curtains, tablecloths, etc., but not bedding. MSPCA will take bedding.
Try the FAQ
According to the FAQ (https://www.helpsy.co/home-pickup-faq) they both up-cycle and re-cycle.
Thanks!
Duplicate
Per their website, they take shoes too
I got a few that need to be reheeled and the Helpsy site says they take them in any condition. So yea!
Interestingly, the site says it's a Certified Benefit Corporation but also says it's a B Corp.
Never heard of either before. For those interested, the site Socap Gobal has this explanation
(https://socapglobal.com/2021/04/whats-the-difference-between-a-b-corp-an...) :
"Many people use the terms “B Corp” and “Benefit Corporation” interchangeably. While similar in concept, there are important differences. B Corp (short for Certified B Corporation) is the term used for any for-profit entity that is certified by the nonprofit B Lab as voluntarily meeting higher standards of transparency, accountability, and performance. Think of it as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for businesses voluntarily trying to do well by doing good. By contrast, a Benefit Corporation is a type of corporation currently recognized in 37 states with legally protected requirements of higher purpose, accountability, and transparency."
Say what?
The Boston Bar Association has more detail here: https://bostonbar.org/sections-forums/sections/business-transactions/bus...
I was wondering what Helpsy was.
Thank you!