SOFA SO BAD FOR RUBBISH
It’s a crying shame that unwanted goods which could help those in need are left to rot on our city footpaths
THE entire contents from rented homes are being left on footpaths.
Have you noticed this disturbing trend in your suburb?
The Gold Coast has always been a transit lounge but why have people when leaving decided to park perfect couches by the kerb?
At Bauer St in Southport on a weekend, the best of white goods – fridges and microwaves – are abandoned at the front of a unit block.
“I couldn’t believe it. I thought it would all be gone by the Monday. It was good furniture. Council had to pick it up,” area councillor Dawn Crichlow told your columnist.
Further north at townhouses in Johnston St, a resident discovers a couch and chest of drawers out the front.
“They were here for a week. Then someone took it, and people arrived and replaced it with other furniture,” the resident says.
Back in the CBD, a tea room closes leaving chairs and tables. Cakes remain on the counter inside. What is going on here with all this wastage?
Cr Crichlow discovered many renters are students and they need to clear their units to get their bond back.
Even if they want to give away some of these luxury goods, they do not know who to contact. Many charities are not operating collection services.
Alyssa Gordon, the recycling manager with Endeavour Foundation, is urging residents to drop off appliances, toys and furniture at their Molendinar or Reedy Creek depots.
“It breaks my heart to see decent furniture and bric-a-brac being abandoned, damaged and ultimately sent to the dump, when it could be given a new lease of life – not to mention the funds it could raise for people in need,” she says.
“If you don’t have transport yourself, ask a friend, a neighbour with a ute or donate to a local charity that can do pickups. Whatever you do, don’t just dump it.”
Welfare support groups want the goods but can’t afford to pay truck drivers for a delivery. What is left on the footpaths can be superior to the old lounges in charity warehouses.
“Some of that should be chopped up for firewood to make space for the good stuff,” a worker says.
Even if they could get a delivery van, where do these agencies store the goods while their stressed clients search for new long-term accommodation?
“It’s an ongoing problem but we are too busy doing core business,” the worker adds.
Simone Patterson, who operates The Sanctuary Women’s Refuge, faces these challenges as she oversees the building of five new units for domestic violence victims.
“We need five lounges, five fridges and different arrangements of beds. We need hugely sized beds,” she says.
If these goods arrived tomorrow, it would be pointless because The Sanctuary has no space. A solution is a co-ordinating agency, someone who can help fund and send trucks, create a storage base, meet the specific needs of each agency. Why would The Sanctuary want larger sized beds?
“A lot of traumatised kids want to sleep with their mums,” Ms Patterson replies.
Makes you think, doesn’t it, before dumping that king-size bed.