Coronavirus: Donations left outside shops 'costing charities'

Donations left outside charity shops during lockdown are likely to end up in landfill

Donations left outside Welsh shops by people having clear-outs in lockdown are costing money, a charity has said.

Charity shops are currently shut due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning they are not able to process and sell bags of items left outside.

They are instead having to use waste disposal services or organise volunteers to redistribute them.

Barnardo's and Oxfam have both asked people to call ahead before donating.

Barnardo's Cymru said they did not have details of how much clearing donations has cost them so far, but they have worked to keep the cost to a minimum.

Some local authorities have also helped with clearing when the items have been classed as fly-tipping.

Some charities, such as the YMCA in Cardiff, have taped up donation bins

It said the issue had improved as lockdown had gone on, but it cannot predict what may happen as shops begin to reopen in England this month, and potentially Wales in the coming weeks.

The charity said it was opening 70 stores in England from next week, but could be a few weeks off reopening in Wales and that is likely to be done in a staggered way.

Retail director David Longmore said: "We are requesting that our customers contact their local shop before attempting to donate.

"We cannot predict if the problem will increase in Wales when our English shops start to re-open, but as part of our reopening plans we are requesting that our customers contact their local shop before attempting to donate."

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Ceredig Davies, a councillor in Aberystwyth, said: "I can appreciate people want to unload items because they've had plenty of time to do a bit of spring cleaning and want to do the right thing, but charities aren't in the position to accept these items and it's a burden for them.

"Leaving items outside of charity shops at present, when they are not taking donations, is actually costing the charities time and money.

"Most get picked up and put into landfill, and if they use the local authority collection they have to pay for it, or a private contractor would cost too."

Mr Davies said there was also an issue with people fly-tipping next to Salvation Army donation bins.

"They have got their drop bins in a couple of areas in Aberystwyth but they're not being emptied, people are dumping stuff there and, because others are seeing the bags, it is being seen as a de-facto fly-tipping spot."

Darron Stephen Smith usually volunteers at a community food hub but felt inspired to help the charities dispose of donations

But there are some community efforts to help charities to deal with the issue.

Darron Stephen Smith has been volunteering to help redistribute the donations, and was given access to a dry storage facility to keep them safe.

He appealed for help on Facebook after realising his one washing machine was not going to go very far in dealing with the clothes, and 18 more people have signed up to take bags home to wash and dry them.

Mr Smith has been providing them with PPE and hand sanitiser, and collections and deliveries are contactless.

"When I saw this I thought something needed to be done to stop these clothes going into landfill or just rotting of the streets," he said.