Babylon extends moratorium on new clothing collection bins

The Babylon Town Board has extended a moratorium on new clothing collection bins for another year.

The moratorium, in place for the last five years and intended to limit debris and what town law describes as the “negative aesthetic impact” of the containers, holds the number of bin locations in the town to about 15, town spokesman Kevin Bonner said.

The bins are operated by two to three charities and by four for-profit businesses that sell the clothes secondhand, often overseas.

Elsewhere in the region, some companies active in that industry have drawn fire for misleading people who thought they were making a charitable donation when they dropped off clothes, but Bonner said that has not been a problem in Babylon recently.

“We know the four companies, we know their locations, and we keep an eye on them,” he said.