NO GOOD: Items donated to St Vincent de Paul over the weekend were ruined thanks to the weekend’s rainfall. Photo: JEFF DEATH 0127jdvinnies02
PILES of clothing and household items were once again left outside St Vincent de Paul’s McNamara Street store on the weekend, despite heavy rainfall.
Unable to salvage the waterlogged goods, the charity was forced to take most of the items to the tip.
Orange councillor Ron Gander says the council may have to address the rubbish-removal problem that is costing Vinnies thousands of dollars a year.
“I think the reason people are leaving the stuff there is laziness,” he said.
“They believe that if they dump it there someone else has got to get rid of it.”
Mr Gander would like to see council impose fines on people who dump goods on the street outside the charity’s opening hours.
“I’ll follow this up with council and see what we can do,” he said.
Mr Gander said the dumping of unwanted items wasn’t confined to Vinnies.
“I’ve seen people putting bags of rubbish in bins at East Orange park, it’s pure laziness,” he said.
St Vincent de Paul Society NSW general manager of community and corporate relations Julie McDonald asked people to think twice about when they donate items to the charity.
“They need to make sure the Vinnies store is open before leaving donations outside,” she said.
“If not, it is likely that any good quality donations will be taken or ruined by rain.”
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au