Dumped rubbish costly for charity shops
Barefaced fly-tipping is costing Palmerston North’s charity stores thousands of dollars a year in disposal fees.
Three years ago, the accumulated junk left outside the city’s charity op-shops was estimated to cost the sector $70,000 a year in disposal fees, according to Methodist Social Services Goodwill manager Lyal Brenton.
Currently, the annual dump charges for the Goodwill stores alone was more than of $12,000.
At the weekend, large furniture items, including a bed base, mattresses, a settee, armchairs, desks and a dryer ‘‘with its guts ripped out’’ were left outside the Goodwill on Main St.
Brenton said this type of ‘‘nondonation’’ happened all the time.
Any soft furnishings dumped overnight and left in the rain became completely ruined, and the pile left at the weekend had to be collected up and taken to the tip.
‘‘We filled three transit van loads after the weekend. The mattresses were ripped, torn, stained and disgusting. I wouldn’t let my dog sleep on them. And because they’re sodden, they’re heavy.’’
Brenton said it was extremely frustrating for himself and staff, but if they didn’t remove the junk, the area would look like a tip and attract more refuse.
‘‘Others see it left there and think they can dump their rubbish there too.’’
Despite being left on a public footpath, he said the Palmerston North City Council held that the mess was Goodwill’s responsibility and part of the cost of being in a second-hand business that solicits donations.
The policy was affirmed by the council’s rubbish and recycling asset engineer Natasha Hickmott.
She said council acknowledged that charity shops could be used to dump unwanted items, and had agreed to reimburse up to 20 per cent of waste disposal costs up to an annual limit per organisation.
‘‘If offenders of illegal dumping can be identified and observed in the act of dumping, on camera or by a third party witness, council can issue an infringement under the Litter Act for a fine of up to $400, or in serious cases contemplate a legal prosecution,’’ Hickmott said.
Brenton said they would be installing a camera over the next few weeks in an attempt to enforce prosecutions.
Rodney Fletcher, manager of the Salvation Army Family Store on Church St, said a camera and security lighting didn’t make one bit of difference.
Surveillance footage has revealed a hive of activity outside the store’s loading bay during early hours.
Along with broken household items, Fletcher said people drop off garden waste, kitchen waste, soiled nappies and dead refrigerators.
‘‘We just have to suck it in, shrug it off and carry on,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s much better to clean it up so it doesn’t affect neighbouring businesses.’’
Jennie Lewer, co-manager of the recently relocated Arohanui Hospice Shop, agreed cameras were a waste of time.
‘‘The people who are dumping just don’t care.’’
Lewer said dumpers, along with scavengers who sift through whatever’s dropped off and leave stuff strewn about the car park, had just twigged to the shop’s move.
Loads of rubbish were still being left at the back of the old Rangitikei St shop, though.
Staff could fill a skip-bin a week at $300 a shot with the dumped refuse Lewer said, an annual cost approaching $16,000.
‘‘It’s a nightmare for us. We keep the dump in business. It’s not fair.’’
Red Cross retail store manager Jan Dawes said having a security light only encouraged dumpers and scavengers because they could see what they were doing. Employing security guards was prohibitive and out of the question.
The managers all believed the issue stemmed from people wishing to avoid, or unable to afford, waste disposal costs.
Hickmott said that as the council no longer owned or operated a landfill, it did not have any control over the cost of waste disposal.