GreenDrop to open trailer for charitable donations at Willowbrook Mall in Wayne
WAYNE — Well, here’s a novel concept.
Rather than go to the mall to buy new stuff to fill your closet, go there to give old stuff away to clean it out.
GreenDrop Realty, a Pennsylvania-based limited liability company, will open a drop-off trailer for donations of clothing and household effects in the parking lot of Willowbrook Mall.
It will be the company’s first mobile site in New Jersey, as its existing sites — in Cherry Hill, Metuchen, Springfield and on Union Boulevard in Totowa — are brick-and-mortar locations. It has 45 sites nationwide, most in mid-Atlantic states.
On Monday, the Planning Board approved a proposal by GreenDrop to take up five parking spots at the mall with the 345-square-foot trailer. It will be on the east side of the retail center, adjacent to Willowbrook Boulevard and nearest to the Bloomingdale’s department store.
Ronald Dee, the director of real estate for GreenDrop, told the board that the approach of the for-profit company is environment-friendly and philanthropic.
For every 1,000 pounds of donations, he said, the company gives a pre-negotiated sum to charities that include the American Red Cross, the Military Order of the Purple Heart Service Foundation and the National Federation of the Blind. More than $5 million was given to those nonprofits and others last year, he said.
Patrons get donation receipts to acknowledge their tax-deductible contributions, Dee said.
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The donations will be stored in the temperature-controlled trailer before a box truck hauls them away to be resold at thrift stores, he said.
GreenDrop accepts most home products, Dee said, so long as they do not contain food and they weigh less than 50 pounds. Blankets, cookware, electronics, toys and musical instruments are common donations.
Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: devencentis@northjersey.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Have donations? GreenDrop to open drop-off site at Willowbrook Mall
