Goodwill asks Palm Beach County commissioners to ban drop boxes owned by for-profit businesses

PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. - Goodwill is asking Palm Beach County commissioners to put  a ban on drop boxes owned by for-profit businesses.

The charity organization says the boxes have popped up throughout the county over the last two years.

Goodwill's Vice President of marketing, Brian Edwards, says the boxes are owned by "for-profit" businesses that take donated clothes and then sell them for a profit.

Edwards says the boxes are part of the reason that Goodwill has seen a sharp decline in donations.

He says donations are down 26-percent, adding, "That's a substantial amount of money when you quantify the percentage of dollars, donated goods and what we put back into the public."

We tried calling some of the companies behind the boxes. Only one business called us back. The company "Better World Books" takes donated books, and sells them to make a profit to go towards literacy programs around the world. A spokesperson for the company says it will work with agencies like Goodwill to make sure it's not taking away donations from the charitable organization.

County officials say they will meet with all the parties involved in this issue sometime within the next two months, to determine what to do about the boxes. Currently, county officials say there aren't any rules regarding these types of donation boxes.

Updated to clarify name of book company