Outrageous charity bin scene sparks fury among locals

A small community has expressed outrage over a disastrous scene of dumped rubbish surrounding a Vinnies charity collection bin.

Fury is brewing over an out-of-control scene at a popular charity collection bin, where clothing, bedding and furniture has been left spewing out of the container onto the ground.

The disastrous display sparked outrage among members of the Kiama community, on the NSW south coast, after a photo of the huge mess was shared online this week.

Dozens of plastic bags filled to the brim with unwanted items were carelessly tossed onto the pile, where people had also dumped boxes, suitcases and even photo canvases.

It appeared someone had also tried stuffing blankets into one of the lids, but couldn’t quite get them all the way in so left them partially hanging out.

The ugly scene was observed this week at the St Vincent de Paul Society, also known as Vinnies, collection bin on Manning Street – one of Kiama’s main strips.

Locals were disgusted at what they saw, describing it “disgraceful” and “sad”.

“Oh this is sad. Time to get rid of the bins maybe,” one person said in response to the image being shared to Facebook.

“Disgusting that this is done. Cameras should be installed and post photos of these charitable people along with their ‘kind donations’. And No this is not an honest mistake,” another wrote.

“That is disgusting! Lazy bloody inconsiderate people,” someone else wrote.

Members of the Kiama community are fuming over this display. Picture:

Others weighed in on possible explanations for the disturbing scene.

“I think the problem is not the lack of bins, it’s the volume of stuff we all buy,” one person suggested.

“I think there may also be issues with staff who collect and sort donated items having Covid-19,” someone else wrote.

Another thought there may have been an increase in donations as a result of people wanting to donate to flood victims.

“Just maybe there was no mean intent here,” they wrote.

One local said he was moving lawns nearby when he spotted people dumping items on the ground next to the bin, and was insulted after he asked them not to.

“I asked people kindly not to leave their donations outside the bins. Most ignored me and told me to f**k off and left their stuff on the ground,” he recalled.

“They’re not using this to help a charity. They’re using it as an excuse to dump their rubbish,” someone else added.

Dumped items thrown away

Phil Coyte, Vinnies NSW director of retail and logistics, said despite bins being regularly emptied, people still often dumped items on the ground around them.

“Our strong advice is to donate in-person at our shops or charity bins; if shops are closed or charity bins are full, we ask that people hold onto their donations until an appropriate time,” Mr Coyte told news.com.au.

“Our retail and logistics team clear bins on a regularly scheduled basis, multiple times a week, across our entire bin network.

“However, unfortunately, despite these efforts, there are times when donations are still left outside bins that are not full and other items that do not fit in the bins are simply left around our donation bins.”

Mr Coyte said items dumped on the ground outside bins often had to be thrown away due to damage, with the charity having to foot the bill for their proper disposal.

“As always, our advice is ‘if you’d give it to a mate, it’s OK to donate’. Please donate responsibly – if it’s dirty, damaged or dangerous we won’t be able to accept it,” he said.

The Kiama Municipal Council has been contacted by news.com.au for comment.

Originally published as Outrageous charity bin scene sparks fury among locals