Residents slammed for thoughtless act in Woolworths car park
Australians are being urged to avoid putting extra strain on charities this Christmas – and this picture shows why.
Residents of an inner-city suburb have been lashed for "dumping" bags upon bags of unwanted clothes outside a set of charity bins, that have now been "rendered unusable" due to this week's heavy dumping of rain.
It's a problem occurring all over the country, with people trying to do the right thing with unwanted goods often falling short after finding full bins, and leaving their discarded belongings beside them.
Such was the case in Balmain this week, in Sydney's Inner West, with at least a dozen bags of clothing dumped in a Woolworths car park now ruined due to the wet weather.
Local slams 'lazy' community
Taking to social media to unleash, a local begged her community to do better. "If you see them full, please don’t leave/dump your items on the ground," she wrote. "Despite the sunny conditions of last week, the rain has appeared and now likely rendered what may have been usable, now no longer viable.
"In addition, many operators have volunteers who have to sift through this and the operator will then have to pay for disposal costs, eating into otherwise valuable resources.
"These bins are emptied regularly, but sometimes operators lack staff or may have had issues with vehicles (which has happened in the past), so hoping you can wait until the next cycle if it’s full."
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People in the comments were understandably annoyed, with many saying "they can't understand" dumping clothes in this way. Others pointed to the fact there are "three charity shops in nearby Rozelle — Noffs, Red Cross and Vinnies".
Clothes almost certain to end up in landfill
Yahoo News Australia understands this is a common occurrence for recycling companies — who collect from these bins regularly. Much of the bags will now inevitably end up in landfill.
Speaking previously to Yahoo, Riley Aickin from textile recovery and recycling organisation Upparel recommends those wishing to donate create a "dialogue" with charities.
"It's about conscious donating rather than 'I don't want this anymore so now it's someone else's problem'," he told Yahoo News Australia in September.
"Go to your local Salvos when they're open and ask, 'what do you need?'"
The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) said it's vital donors adhere to a set of guidelines when giving away secondhand items. If a charity bin is full or a shop is closed, donors shouldn’t leave items outside, it said. It is an illegal offence and can be punishable with fines up to $4,000.
Australia's game-changing 'clothing graveyard'
While councils grapple with illegal dumping, a possible solution to Australia's problem with fast fashion has emerged.
In what has so far seen "incredible, brilliant" results, bringing our clothes right back to where they started — the cotton crops — farmers are lining their fields with our old apparel. In a "world-first trial" and major "full-circle moment" experts have said the trial could change the game.
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