Unsolicited in-kind donations is a major issues in many sudden onset crisis. Whether due to a genuine outpouring of solidarity or to get a tax write-off the volume and nature of stuff that are donated defies any logic. Ice-skates for a flooding in Bangladesh, sextoys donated after a storm in Vanuatu. A container full of old croissants for Kosovo or a 40ft container full of only left boots.
The donations are not just ridiculous they are also an environmental problem and Travis Opocensky has found a solution. He has founded RightBoot, a humanitarian startup that applies the principles of circular economy to humanitarian action. RightBoot recycles unwanted donations and other waste to minimise the environmental footprint of humanitarian action.
You can read more about RightBoot on their website www.rightboot.org and as you can hear in the episode Travis would love to hear your worst, funniest and weirdest experiences with in-kind donations. You can send your stories to solutions@rightboot.org.
The report mentioned in the episode on packaging waste from humanitarian operations can be found here: https://eecentre.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Final-Version_Publication.pdf