Who would deliberately cause a charitable organization the cost and inconvenience of cleaning up a pile of junk in its parking lot?
Disappointingly, quite a few people.
Some might suggest those people simply don’t know better, yet local thrift stores display signs clearly listing the hours that donated items can be dropped off.
But every weekend, staff return to the store to find a heap of items – such as beds, couches, toys and clothing – left outside the building. If it’s a misguided attempt to help, it’s definitely not. Most of the objects have to be thrown out because their history is unknown, or they can’t be sold. It should also be obvious to anyone that furniture and mattresses left out in the rain overnight are useless.
Sanny Duque, yard supervisor at the Churches Thrift Shop, says it is frustrating to see profits intended to support local church charities being funneled into paying fees to haul and dump garbage at the landfill.
Most of the people who do this are not “donating.” They’re saving themselves the costs and inconvenience of properly disposing of their junk. And in so doing, instead of helping a charity, they’re causing harm.
-With files from Abbotsford News