Bay of Plenty charity shops inundated with 'low-quality rubbish'

Store manager at Habitat for Humanity Glenda Mayes said the store is no longer accepting things like clothes and books. Photo / Andrew Warner

Some charity shops are totting up dump costs as people choose to donate "rubbish" rather than putting it in the bin.

Habitat for Humanity Fraser Cove store manager Glenda Mayes said her store was being inundated with "low-quality rubbish", with items coming in rusty, chipped or badly stained.

She said she would normally re-donate excess to other shelters, but felt the quality was just too bad.

Mayes said she was filling up her mini skip constantly.

On top of that, people were breaking into the skip nightly to pull out anything they liked, and Mayes was left to clean up the mess every morning.

"I can't just give away things for free as it will become the expectation."

She said costs to run the store were not cheap, and they simply could not afford that mentality.

The store is having to turn away clothes, books, and even toys.

But Mayes is not alone - some other charity shops are struggling with a high number of "non-saleable" items being donated.

A woman from the Waipuna Hospice shop in Pāpāmoa said the store could not accept ripped, stained or worn out items.

However, as some people continued to donate those non-saleable items, the shop was forced to pay out of their own pocket to dump it, she said.

A supervisor at The Dovecote op-shop said although the community provided an incredible amount of support, they did get the odd person who used their shop as "a place to dump old rubbish".

On the other hand, the Society of St Vincent de Paul in the Western Bay of Plenty was bursting with good quality donations, and would be holding its first "community free sale".

Area manager Lorna Edlin said St Vincent de Paul will hold a massive free sale. Photo / Andrew Warner

Western Bay of Plenty area manager Lorna Edlin previously told the Bay of Plenty Times they were "sick of throwing stuff away" and as they were unable to recycle clothing in Tauranga, this was the next best thing.

Edlin estimated there were about 3000 to 4000 banana boxes full of donated clothing, as well as blankets, duvets and shoes, in storage at the moment.

So on March 23 – between 10am and 2pm at 67 Courtenay Rd, Row B, Gate Pa – rows and rows of these boxes will be opened and laid out for the public to browse through and take what they please free of charge.

The shop in the Western Bay of Plenty is planning on holding these community free sales twice a year.