Charities urge South Australians to donate goods during trading hours as multiple organisations forced to dump damaged goods

Donations dumped outside charity shops have left organisations with hefty clean up bills especially over the Christmas period.

Charities have been overwhelmed by piles of donations and rubbish dumped outside of their stores over the Christmas period, with organisations urging South Australians to give during trading hours.

Stained and broken furniture were just some of the items left outside a Salvation Army in Parafield Gardens, with pictures circling social media over the weekend.

Across the city, the St Vincent de Paul Society had to hire trucks and people on Monday to clean up mounds of donations left outside their Mt Barker op shop – one of 35 across South Australia.

Salvation Army Parafield Gardens had unwanted Christmas presents and furniture dumped in front of their stores, many in unsalvageable condition. Picture: Facebook

Vinnies SA chief executive Evelyn O’Loughlin said it cost the charity tens of thousands of dollars to clean up and dispose of the unusable donations every year.

Charities across the country are not exempt from dumping fees but unlike other states, those in South Australia don’t receive a full rebate from the government – something that Ms O’Loughlin said they were lobbying to change.

She said the charity has increased the number of stores open during the Christmas ­period this year from five to 17 to help combat the problem but those that remained shut had been hit harder than the previous year.

“In this period, we do two pick-ups a day with the trucks, so we have to get them from down in Adelaide to come up and clear it – sometimes from the morning to the afternoon, it’s full again,” she said.

Ms O’Loughlin said they were forced to take donations generously left outside to landfill.

Vinnies SA chief executive Evelyn O’Loughlin said it cost the charity tens of thousands of dollars to clean up and dispose of the unusable donations every year. Picture: Supplied

“People come and steal things, rifle through, or animals, the weather … we had that heavy downpour the other day that would have made everything unusable,” she said.

“It must be sad for the very generous people who donate to have to know that their goods are going to go into landfill instead of having a ­second life, reducing CO2 emissions and also providing much-needed funds for charities.”

Ms O’Loughlin said 93 per cent of their income came from South Australians purchasing donated goods from their shops or donating directly to their organisation.

“The money that should have been going to people in need in South Australia, (people) doing it tough, goes to disposing of goods that aren’t resaleable,” she said.

She urged those wanting to donate to bring items during store opening hours and follow the adage “if it’s okay to give to a mate, it’s okay to donate”.

“We take anything pretty much, so long as it’s not ripped or stained,” she said.

Member for Playford John Fulbrook took to social media to urge locals to ensure that their donations were clean, usable and dropped off during trading hours after items were dumped outside of the Salvation Army in Parafield Gardens.