WED 22 JAN 2014
Printed on 100% recycled paper
British India
PROUDLY INDEPENDENT
Trades & Services Need help at your place this weekend? p.20-21
Please stop dumping Perseverance pays dividends p.16 Australia Day guide p.3
Making progress Key roads about to open
p.12
St Vincent de Paul paying $500 a week to dispose of unusable items Melissah Comber
C
harity store volunteers are once again up to their armpits in soiled and damaged goods after a post-Christmas influx. “It’s just getting worse and worse and worse,” Shirley King, from the St Vincent de Paul store in High Street, Maitland, said. “We do get a very good amount of good stuff, but the rubbish people put, I can’t understand their reasoning.” As a result of an increased volume of unwanted, broken and dirty Christmas presents being dumped at the Vinnies door, the charity has had to foot the bill for additional trips to the city’s tip, this month making twice as many and costing the Maitland and East Maitland stores up to $500 a week. Ms King also estimates that around 50 per cent of the donations are unviable or just rubbish. Sometimes, an entire bin does not yield a single resalable item. “We’ve never seen it this bad. We were once left with a freezer full of rotting food.” While the Vinnies stores are grateful for donations of clothing, linen and bags, for health and
Vinnies volunteers Pat Gardiner, Shirley King, Bill Olsen and June Punch with a portion of goods they have received safety reasons they can not take electrical goods and dirty items, and also do not have the space to take books.
Vinnies are also on the lookout for volunteers to drive vans and sort donations. To offer assistance, contact the Maitland store on 4933 6828.
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