Charity Bin Pilot Project 2012 to stop illegal dumping near bins

gizmo1 said :

Remove all the charity bins, the charities don’t look after them and dealing with the left overs from stupid people costs us all.

+1

I have to say I’m not convinced the charities care. I rung around to find which charity would take my assortment of items (some collect this, some collect that, some collect this AND that, some don’t do collections, and a year later it might be different). Then I tried to find out if they’ll come in the morning or afternoon so I wouldn’t be waiting all day (something delivery people seem to be able to manage). They couldn’t say and suggested I just leave the stuff outside. Having to book so far in advance I asked what if it turns out it’s raining that day, I don’t have anywhere under cover to leave it out, and they said don’t worry, just leave it anywhere. They rejected something for a loose knob once so what would they do if they arrive to find totally rain soaked furniture? The phone person really didn’t seem to care about what happens outside, she just writes down addresses. They collect stuff, they sell some, they throw most of it out, they complain to the gubmint about tip fees, they collect stuff, they sell some, they throw most of it out, they complain to the gubmint about tip fees, that’s the business they’re in, who cares if it works efficiently and effectively.

Time to get rid of the charity bins, and rethink all aspects of how old stuff is collected/reused/recycled/distributed.

Just move the charity bins inside shopping centres so that are only accessible during working hours. It’ll cut down on the dumping of rubbish about 75% I reckon.

Yes I can see Westfield or AMP agreeing to have charity bins inside their shopping centres 🙄

Remove all the charity bins, the charities don’t look after them and dealing with the left overs from stupid people costs us all.

Here we go again……………………….same old, same old news…………….

I fail to see why this is so hard to get a handle on – yes indeed “enhance” the enforcement – by actually doing some… (Why is that only parking seems to get adequate enforcement in this town?)

Gungahlin gets no mention other than “we pinged a few people some months back” yet it has a real problem that has serious visual impact on the town centre. A quite workable suggestion that came in response to a post I put on the GCC Facebook page some months back was to remove the bins from the town centre and put them instead inside the gates of the Mitchell waste transfer centre. I passed this onto Katy myself – nothing.

MissChief said :

One third of all goods? That’s a very high figure. Is it possible charities are raising the bar too high with the quality of goods they expect? Do they reclaim/recycle items that would be perfectly good but for a button, some glue or a lick of paint? What exactly do they consider junk? Can’t most household items be recycled with a little thought and effort, i.e. clothes well past their UBD can be torn up and sold as rags (a work for the dole job perhaps?). I think for the most part, people who leave things at charity bins believe they are doing the right thing. Perhaps their bar isn’t as high and/or their expectations are higher than the reality? Better communication and systems may help.

These days there’s so much shiny new furniture that will conveniently fall apart as soon as it starts to look outdated which you can buy cheaply, so why would you bother with something that already looks outdated and needs work.
It’s the same with clothes, if you can buy new latest seasons styles cheaply why buy used. I used to keep my clothes for yeeeears and donated them when they no longer fit or I grew bored of them but the fabrics just don’t last like they used to, and when I once said so to a young salesgirl she shrugged and said it’s fine because for such low prices you’ll want to update to the new seasons colours as soon as they arrive instore anyway.
But none of that matters AS LONG AS YOU DON’T CARRY YOUR PURCHASES HOME IN A PLASTIC BAG!

I think some charities do turn really worn clothing into rags. I don’t know what happens to furniture, I would have thought materials (timber, metal) and fittings (handles, hinges) would have some value? I looked at the government website but I can’t find anything, I can’t even find the list that used to be there (am I overlooking it?).

Jungle Jim said :

MissChief – perhaps you could volunteer your time to sort through all the garbage left at the bins and pick out what you think is salvageable. While you’re there, save the charities a few more bucks by loading up the remaining crap and drop it off to the tip.

Yeah, sure, if I didn’t have to work 12 hours every day. Perhaps when I retire.

MissChief – perhaps you could volunteer your time to sort through all the garbage left at the bins and pick out what you think is salvageable. While you’re there, save the charities a few more bucks by loading up the remaining crap and drop it off to the tip.

sarahsarah said :

MissChief said :

One third of all goods? That’s a very high figure. Is it possible charities are raising the bar too high with the quality of goods they expect? Do they reclaim/recycle items that would be perfectly good but for a button, some glue or a lick of paint? What exactly do they consider junk? Can’t most household items be recycled with a little thought and effort, i.e. clothes well past their UBD can be torn up and sold as rags (a work for the dole job perhaps?). I think for the most part, people who leave things at charity bins believe they are doing the right thing. Perhaps their bar isn’t as high and/or their expectations are higher than the reality? Better communication and systems may help.

Really? Have you seen what gets dumped at charity bins?

http://www.thisisnotcharity.net/gungahlin-2.html
http://www.thisisnotcharity.net/mawson-3.html

No one wants stained undies or scungy mattresses that someone else has tossed on the ground next to a charity bin. If it’s on the ground the charities toss it out and up to recently the charities had to foot the bill for it.

You can’t just dump your crap on the ground and walk away. I don’t understand why this is such a hard concept to grasp. It’s right there on the bin for Pete’s sake!

Yes, I’m fully aware that rubbish also gets dumped at charity bins. What I’m questionning is the very high trash ratio, a ratio that takes into account everything left inside the bins as well.

If charities are in fact throwing away everything that isn’t put inside the charity bin then maybe that explains it but it does seem a waste. Your linked website seems to include usable things – something still in it’s wrapper considered trash? Which takes us back to where we started.

MissChief said :

One third of all goods? That’s a very high figure. Is it possible charities are raising the bar too high with the quality of goods they expect? Do they reclaim/recycle items that would be perfectly good but for a button, some glue or a lick of paint? What exactly do they consider junk? Can’t most household items be recycled with a little thought and effort, i.e. clothes well past their UBD can be torn up and sold as rags (a work for the dole job perhaps?). I think for the most part, people who leave things at charity bins believe they are doing the right thing. Perhaps their bar isn’t as high and/or their expectations are higher than the reality? Better communication and systems may help.

I think you’ll find that ANYTHING left outside of the bins is classed as unusable. The potential for contamination, mold, irreparable damage would leave the charity open to litigation* for providing potentially harmful goods.

Most illegal dumping beside the charity bins that I’ve seen is absolutely junk – not usable items (clothing, blankets etc) that just wouldn’t fit in the bin.

*I have no legal background to base this one, it’s just my assumption (and you know what they say about those things!)