Attention donors: Your well-intended offerings to charity clothing donation boxes may no longer be the right thing to do.

And for those of you who plug bags of clothing into “pirate” boxes, operated by unlicensed fly-by-nighters that are definitely not charities, there’s a good chance they won’t be coming to pick up your donation.

This pandemic is really cramping peoples’ style – nobody looks better with a face mask – and is also upending things we take for granted, such as donating clothes or household items to charities.

A lot of charities have stopped donation box pickups for now and sealed them, to prevent people from stuffing bags of clothing into them when it will no longer be collected.

I was reminded of it when I saw a huge pile of “donated” garbage recently heaped around a pirate box on Milner Avenue. Donation boxes serve as a handy way for the inconsiderate to get rid of junk while pretending to be charitable.

Often, the shady types responsible for pirate boxes do not pick up the junk surrounding it, leaving the cleanup to whoever owns the property where the box is located.

Diabetes Canada, which operates drop boxes and sends trucks to collect household donations, appealed to the public this week to stop donating until the crisis abates.

“As part of Diabetes Canada’s ongoing efforts to protect the health and safety of our valued donors, staff, partners and communities, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to temporarily suspend all collection activities,” it said on its website.

“This means that the collection of all textile donations from homes and bins across Canada has stopped, effective immediately. Please do NOT to drop off items at our donation bins as we are unable to collect them at this time. As life gets back to normal and we resume service, please keep us in mind.”

A news release issued Tuesday by the City of Toronto noted that “another emerging concern is the accumulation of donated goods, as well as garbage surrounding clothing drop boxes.

“Right now, in response to COVID-19, many charities are not accepting donations or emptying boxes,” said the release, adding that for now, the city will be picking up donations and trash left around the bins.

“The city urges all residents who want to make a donation to confirm with charities whether or not they are currently accepting donations.”

I did a tour of drop boxes in my area and found that Children’s Wish boxes had also been sealed, as were those operated by OASIS Addiction Recovery Services. The boxes of both are licensed by the city.

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Not one of the unlicensed boxes I looked at, which seem to be more plentiful than the legitimate ones, were sealed. It’s not clear if the stuff in them is being picked up.

But the city’s advice to hold onto your donations for now is a good idea.