New figures released today show just how much dodgy or thoughtless dumping of donations is costing charities.
The data released today by national advocacy body the National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations showed people dumping illegally or donating unusable items was costing Australian charities such as Lifeline, St Vincent de Paul, Red Cross and the Endeavour Foundation more than $18 million a year.
NARCO vice-president Terry O'Neill said more than 80,000 tonnes of unusable donations were dumped at charity bins across Australia each year, peaking during holiday clean-outs at times like Christmas and new year."This is the most important time of the year for us — it's a really busy time — but it's a time we end up with a lot of goods that can't be used and goods dumped outside charity bins that aren't usable, which means it ends up in landfill.
"We have charities that save lives, who look after people with disabilities and people who are homeless, so every single item that goes to landfill is a dollar not spent on a charity's mission." Those in New South Wales are the worst offenders, with more than 32,000 tonnes of their donations going to the tip, followed by Queensland where more than 18,000 tonnes ends up in landfill. And Victoria sends more 15,000 tonnes of donations to the dump.Is your Christmas clean-out helping or hurting charities?
Mr O'Neill said while the problem needed to be highlighted, he did not want to deter people from donating.
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