Car tyres were one of the items recently dumped at the Rotorua SPCA. Photo/Supplied
Car tyres were one of the items recently dumped at the Rotorua SPCA. Photo/Supplied
Charity shops say they are not a dumping ground for people's rubbish and urge people to think twice before passing on their junk to them.
Rotorua SPCA, Rotorua Community Hospice and the Salvation Army all say people are using them as a means to get rid of rubbish.
Rotorua SPCA centre manager Sue Kinsella said people frequently dumped their rubbish at the op shop.
She said most of the op shop staff were volunteers who were retired or semi-retired veterans and were not capable of moving all the items themselves, so the SPCA had to get people in to move it.
Ms Kinsella said predominantly furniture which was unsellable and unusable got dumped there, such as ruined sofas and broken chairs, as well as stained clothing.
Rubbish recently dumped at the Rotorua SPCA. Photo/Supplied
Recently they had car tyres, old timber panelling, a ripped and torn couch, broken furniture and general rubbish dumped there, she said.
She said it could be clearly seen from the street and was not a good look.
"It's just a frustration and because rubbish dumping anywhere in our community is an eyesore we feel people should be accountable for their own messes."
She said it was also unhygienic and rubbish was a pest and rodent issue.
She said the charity had to pay to move and get rid of the rubbish at the dump.
"We are here to help the community with regards to animal welfare and all our income from the op shop comes back to help with that.
"Any other costs is less we have for our animals."
Ms Kinsella said they put a post up on Facebook after the most recent dumping and within an hour they had two separate contacts ask if they could take the tyres to use them recreationally on their own land.
Also, Burton Construction sent a truck to clear all the rest of the rubbish at no charge, she said.
"We are very grateful to the community for pulling together and helping us out so quickly."
She said it was sweet to have the help of the community, plus the reaction they got showed people would not tolerate the rubbish dumping and should not have to.
Rotorua Community Hospice chief executive Sharron Black said they had people leaving unsellable items with them, though since their shop moved from the industrial area to Te Ngae Rd it had not been as bad.
However, they still had to pay dump fees to get rid of them, she said.
Examples of items were old keyboards, crockery that was chipped, broken or cracked, and soiled linen.
They were also left electrical appliances that were not reusable.
Mrs Black said instead of packing up and dropping off goods people have bought from them, their volunteers had to spend their time loading a truck to take items to the dump.
She said they also had limited storage and these items were taking up valuable space.
"We are so grateful for what we receive. However, think twice before dropping it outside our front door, because it costs us money, which is taking money away from our service."
Rotorua Salvation Army corps officer Ralph Overbye said people dumping rubbish and unsellable goods happened a lot, and had been an ongoing issue for some time.
"I think for some people, they just can't afford to dump this stuff. Others are simply unaware that there are things that we cannot sell."
Mr Overbye said they got all sorts of stuff left outside The Family Store including furniture, bedding and other household items.
