Fury as ‘lazy’ charity dumpers ditch bags of old clothes outside a Vinnies which is closed for another WEEK – leaving a huge mess for volunteers to clean up
- Piles of clothes and other items were dumped next to the drop off charity bin
- Charity dumpers ignored a sign saying the shop is closed until January 4
- A Vinnies worker said 60 per cent of what the charity receives is ‘rubbish’
Australians have blasted ‘lazy’ charity dumpers for ditching bags of old clothes outside a Vinnies, despite the shop being closed for another week.
Piles of secondhand clothes and other items were left next to the drop off charity bin outside the St Vincent de Paul store at Findon, in Adelaide‘s west.
Charity dumpers appeared to have completely ignored a sign in the front window saying the shop is closed from December 24 to January 4.
‘Please DO NOT LEAVE DONATIONS during this time. We will happily accept them when the store is open,’ the sign read.
Piles of secondhand clothes and other items were left next to the drop off charity bin outside the St Vincent de Paul store at Findon, in Adelaide’s west
Anthony Whellum, who has worked for the charity for 15 years, said 60 per cent of what Vinnies receives is ‘rubbish’
Anthony Whellum, who has worked for the charity for 15 years, said 60 per cent of what Vinnies receives is ‘rubbish’.
‘This is a common occurrence. Most of the stores don’t have the blue bins anymore, for this exact reason,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘Someone has gone through that. Try to donate when they are open.’
Simon Batchelor said people also dump their unwanted belongings at his local Salvos.
‘I hate it. The local Salvos close at 5pm on a Saturday and you can guarantee there is a load dumped outside their gates every week,’ he said.
Other social media users said staff will now be forced to clean up the mess when they get back from their Christmas and new year break.
‘No empathy for those left to clear their rubbish, which they hide behind the facade of making ‘charitable donations’. These people are doing no more than throwing away rubbish for free,’ one Twitter user said.
Another wrote: ‘Terrible when Vinnies has to have another fundraiser just to clean up other people’s s**t.’
‘Sad thing is many people use ‘charity shops’ as a mean to get rid of their actual garbage. Only donate stuff that is still good and during opening hours. If you are too ashamed to show your face when donating it’s not worth donating.’
Other social media users said staff will now be forced to clean up the mess when they get back from their Christmas and New Year break (pictured, stuff dumped at the bin)
At the beginning of the Covid pandemic lockdown in March, St Vincent de Paul Queensland CEO Kevin Mercer asked residents to keep ahold of their unwanted items until stores reopened.
‘Don’t drive donations to your local Vinnies where they will be wasted and cost us money to remove. Hold onto them for when our shops reopen,’ he said.
‘Don’t leave them at our doors, don’t leave them at our bins, don’t leave them outside our fenced warehouses.
‘Find a spot in your garage, your wardrobe or under the stairs and keep your donations at home until we reopen.’
