Encourage dumpers to do the right thing

Ireceived a reality check the first time I took a big load of old clothes to a charity secondhand shop. Wheni packed the bag I had been careful to pick only items that were washed andnot stained or torn or overly worn.

Ihanded the bag over to a rather harried and grumpyvolunteer and she askedmeto stay while she sorted it.

Iwas put out at first, thinking she wasbeing a bit ungrateful - I could be selling those clothesontrademe instead of donating them.

But then the sorting began and her reject pile grew.

Most of the stuff thatwascheap to start with didn’tmakethe cut. Wouldn’t sell. Of the rest, anything withmorethan the subtlest sign of wearwas not acceptable for the samereason. Winter coats? No thanks, it’ssummerand there’sno roomin storage.

With the choicest items were selected, Iwas sent off to find a clothing bin - or a rubbish bin - for the rest.

I felt bad, both for taking the volunteer’s time andfor having misjudged the acceptable standard.

Now, anattempted do-gooder with a slightly different idea of what makesa secondhand bargain is one thing, but ditching stacks of disgusting and clearly unsellable goods at these shops is quite another.

Yet that is the kind of carelessness somevolunteers at secondhand stores in the Bay of Plenty - andno doubt around the rest ofnew Zealand too - faceonup to adaily basis, aswe reported thisweek.

Mouldy sofas, stained mattresses, ripped furniture, broken barbeques, and - I can’t believe I’m writing this - items covered in urine or poo have beenamongdonations.

Insomecases, the goods were tampered with or rainedonafter they were left onthe doorstep outside of business hours, but the originaldumper still holdssome responsibility for that inmyeyes.

Andit’s not just stores being hit. In Pa¯pa¯moa, acommunity food swapstall closed due to all the worthless non-food rubbish left around it, and I’ve seen thesame situation at clothing bins.

This is costing charitiesmoney better spent ontheircommunity work, and wasting the precious time of their volunteers.

It’s easy to rail against this obviously bad behaviour, but that doesn’t change much.

Is catching and penalising perpetrators an option? It would seemunlikely given the resources that would be involved, the “donation” grey area and the petty nature of the act.

Unaffordabledumpfees are often cited as one reason people resort to this.

Perhaps somesort of concession system for people infinancial strife would incentivise somedumpers to do the right thing.