An Auckland charity is forking out thousands of dollars a year to dispose off rubbish dumped in front of its op shops.
Volunteer Manu with a box full of clothing left at the doorstop of Vinnies after hours. Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
An Auckland charity is forking out thousands of dollars a year to dispose off rubbish dumped in front of its op shops.
The staff at the Vinnies Op Shop in Mangere Bridge say some people have been treating the store front like a tip.
First Up went behind the scenes to check out how volunteers sort rubbish from donations fit for the shop floor.
By early afternoon, Manu - a volunteer at the op shop - had already spent hours sorting through dumped goods.
"I'm trying to get rid of other people's rubbish that's been dumped in the front of the top shop, or if it's not in the front, it's in the back," she said.
"Wet clothes stained, smelly. It's been in the weather, rain.
"If it's really bad, I usually come in early. I don't know why these people are doing this."
The op shop took donations, which usually ended up on the shop floor. There was also an amount that went to a 'free to a good home' container, and there were several bags of rubbish that were thrown in a skip bin behind the shop.
Waste Management bin behind the Vinnies Op shop in Mangere. Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
In the back room, volunteer Helen had spent the best part of two hours sifting through donated titles for the shop's 'book nook'.
Not everything was fit for sale.
"Books and magazines that are way out of date and books that are water damaged, mouldy. I feel that if you wouldn't keep it and read it yourself, then why donate it?"
Rosanne Wills is president of the South Auckland chapter of Society of St Vincent De Paul, and had been working in the tearoom at the Mangere Bridge store, where a whiff of bleach hung in the air.
"It's been used to clean our mug this morning that was still stained in the bottom of it.
"It had been donated to us in said condition."
But dirty kitchenware was certainly not the worst donation she had come across.
"I don't want to even tell you the worst that I've seen.
"Bed linen that's been stained, use your imagination. There's different stains it could be a red one or a brown one. And put in a bag."
Rosanne Wills, president of the South Auckland chapter of Society of St Vincent De Paul. Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
Dealing with items like that also came at a huge cost to the charity.
Wills said the rubbish disposal bill, just for St Vincent De Paul's South Auckland stores, was in the thousands.
"Yearly [it costs] between $4800 and $6000, that's two dumpings at two different locations."
She said some of the money to get rid of the rubbish came from shop revenue.
"Part of it will be the revenue that we we make here at the shop that we're not being able to use to buy food or put petrol in the truck or pay the people that we do pay."
Vinnies op shops only accepts donations brought in while the shop is open.
Any goods left at their doorstep afterhours - especially in black garbage bags - are considered a health and safety danger.
"If a black bag is left at the front door outside of ours, we don't know its history at all. We don't know what is inside them. We've got everybody's health and safety uppermost in our mind. They become a hazard."
In early November, an overnight dumping of clothes stretched from wall to wall of the Mangere Bridge shop entrance.
Piles of black plastic bags, more than a metre high, completely blocked the front door and windows
Wills said dumping in front of the store had always been an issue, but it had become more frequent of late.
"It's very exasperating to have that attitude (from people)."
Volunteer Manu spends several hours a week sorting through donations at the Vinnies Op shop in Mangere Bridge. Photo: Mahvash Ikram/RNZ
Despite being tired, she accepted dealing with rubbish as part of working at an op shop
"It's kind of like we all look upon this as a service," she said.
And as for other donations, Wills said while some hand-me-downs are not dirty, if they are worn out, they have no resale value at the store, so it was best to take them to clothing bins
"If the zip is broken or missing buttons that does not go on the rack on our front door. There's a notice about where to those to clothing bins that where it may get cut up for rags."
More than 220,000 tonnes of clothes and textiles were thrown out in New Zealand each year, according to WasteMINZ.
A big factor was fast fashion, cheap clothes that are not made to last.
WasteMINZ said the fabric that op shops could not sell is often sent offshore to Pacific Island nations, especially Papua New Guinea.
About 50 percent of what is not sold in op shops or sent overseas ends up in the landfill.
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