CHARITY donation bins are being treated as makeshift rubbish dumps, with lounges, broken furniture and bags of waste abandoned for volunteers to clean up.
Division 3 Councillor Paul Golle has slammed the behaviour after another pile of household rubbish was found dumped beside charity bins in the Redlands.
“The photo speaks for itself,” Cr Golle said.
“A discarded lounge, broken furniture, rubbish bags and other waste have been left beside these charity bins.
“Common sense tells us that a driver collecting donations simply cannot load a lounge or piles of dumped rubbish into a collection truck.
“Instead, volunteers and charity organisations are left to clean up the mess, taking valuable time and resources away from helping people who genuinely need support.”
Cr Golle said it was disappointing that people continued to misuse donation sites despite previous awareness campaigns and clear signage.
Charity bins provide affordable goods for families doing it tough and help raise money for vital community services.
“When people dump rubbish at these sites, it creates additional costs, safety hazards and can even result in perfectly good donations being contaminated and sent to landfill,” he said.
“If an item isn’t suitable for donation, please dispose of it responsibly.
“Redland City residents have access to waste disposal facilities, and that’s where broken furniture and household rubbish belong –not beside charity bins.”
Cr Golle said the problem was not only illegal dumping but also a lack of respect for charities and their volunteers.
“These charities rely on the generosity of our community,” he said.
“They shouldn’t have to spend their limited resources cleaning up after people who use these sites as a free rubbish tip.
“A little consideration goes a long way.
“Let’s respect our volunteers, support our local charities, and ensure these donation points remain places of generosity rather than dumping grounds.”
Charitable Reuse Australia chief executive Omer Soker said charity shops remained highly effective at turning quality donations into social and environmental good but needed the community’s support to stamp out dumping.
“Every year, Australians’ generous donations help raise almost $1 billion for social good, divert 190,000 tonnes from landfill and save 1.4 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions, with an impressive 86 per cent of all donations reused,” Mr Soker said.
“We’re encouraging Australians to Make a Good Deed Great by ensuring their donations are quality items, given instore or inside bins – never left outside where they may be damaged. “The more quality donations we receive, the more good we can do together.”
