SHERMAN – A California nonprofit organization sued the City of Denton over the latter’s ban on charitable donation bins.
Green Education Foundation filed a lawsuit on Oct. 18 in Sherman federal court, claiming said ban infringed upon its First Amendment rights.
The plaintiff explains in the suit that it is “committed to creating a sustainable future through education” and it solicits and collects charitable donations of various goods, including clothing, shoes, books, toys and household items through unattended Conex containers referred to as “Neighborhood Donation Recycling Stations” to facilitate its future goals.
“GEF benefits from the donated items collected at its NDRSs the bins by selling the goods and distributing the revenue within its non-profit organization to fund educational programs throughout the nation,” the original petition says.
Per court papers, the Denton Development Code does not contain a provision that directly regulates outdoor, unattended charitable donation bins, but contains a Section that explicitly governs the permitting procedure for “special waste and recyclables haulers” in the city.
GEF asserts it applied for a permit to operate a NDRS in Denton two years ago. The city issued the complainant Collection and Transportation Services Permit No. 14-136 then “unilaterally” revoked it, the suit says.
The plaintiff adds that it had no NEDRs in the city as of early 2015. The lack of NEDRs apparently deprived GEF of $55,834.54 in annual charitable donations.
“This injury is ongoing, as the City continues to enforce the Policy and refuses to process any type of application that would allow GEF to operate a NDRS in the City,” the suit says.
A jury trial is requested.
Attorney Daniel P. Dalton of the law firm Dalton & Tomich, PLC in Detroit is representing GEF.
Sherman Division of the Eastern District of Texas Case No. 4:16-CV-0795