Diabetes Canada donation bins are overflowing after collection of clothing stopped on March 23, 2020, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. (HANDOUT)
Some Diabetes Canada clothing donation bins are becoming “garbage dumps,” according to the organization.
Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and non-critical services halted by government order, Diabetes Canada is no longer picking up textile donations from homes and donation bins as of March 23.
More than 500 employees have been temporarily laid off as a result of the pandemic.
“Sadly, some residents continue to drop off donations at our bins even though we cannot empty them at this time; and some individuals are using Diabetes Canada donation bins to dump garbage and more,” a news release said.
“This is posing a serious health and safety issue. We have contacted government agencies to help us to remove the garbage however we have not yet been successful. We simply do not have the financial resources to deploy staff to clean the garbage around our more than 5,000 bins.”
Diabetes Canada says it relies on the generous charitable clothing donations as a crucial source of revenue that supports diabetes research, sends kids with Type 1 diabetes to camp and sustains their efforts to end the fight against diabetes.
The organization’s collection of textiles also diverts more than 100 million pounds of clothing from landfills annually.
Anyone looking to help can make a secure donation online.
