Unlicensed textile collections are a big problem in the textile recycling industry – many illegal operators are taking advantage of the lack of resources in Council licensing departments and avoiding applying for a licence, hoping that residents will not question the validity of any textile bag dropping through their letterbox.
The solution is quite simple – Councils have been asked to create a page on their website with collections that have gone through scrutiny and been authorised along with the requests from the exempt charities (large charities that have nationwide permission from Government) with collection dates within a district. The public can quickly see what is not authorised and ignore /report unauthorised collections. This link provides details of registered charity collections in the Richmondshire District https://www.richmondshire.gov.uk/licensing/charitable-collections/registered-charity-collectors/
Sadly there are gangs nationwide who are involved in this fraud . Also it is depriving legitimate charities of valuable funding and hoodwinking the public who think they are helping a good cause.