A site variance was granted to Goodwill International Services recently, as representatives of the organization presented a case to the Haddonfield Zoning Board for a new “attended donation center” on Grove Street.
The zoning board offered the variance to Goodwill for the former Haddonfield Shellfish site on 170 Grove St. Goodwill purchased the structure with the intention of setting up the center, which would take in donations only from the public during normal work hours.
It will be patterned after a current donation center in Medford.
The purchase price of the building was not revealed.
Goodwill representatives reported the 1,600-square-foot building would most likely be opened by the summer if Goodwill receives all of its approvals from the borough.
Haddonfield is very similar in terms of demographics to Medford, representatives said, which has a very successful attended donation center. The center averages about 90 donors a day.
Juli Lundberg, public relations manager for Goodwill Industries of South Jersey and Philadelphia, previously reported the donation centers typically steer items away from the waste collection stream and adds tons of material to the recycling totals each year. This helps to save on tipping fees and increases the total amount of material recycled each year.
