Illegal rubbish dumpers target North Geelong Salvation Army

The Salvos in North Geelong has been hit with another wave of illegal dumping, with workers returning from the long weekend to find a mountain of trash blocking their front gate.

Advocates have reminded residents that donations should never be left outside of a charity shop and should only be placed in store or through sign posted bins. Picture: Alison Wynd

Illegal rubbish dumpers have once again targeted the Salvos in North Geelong, with charity shop workers returning from Easter break to find a mountain of loose trash left outside the site’s front gate.

Despite numerous signs warning against the practise and its violation of the Environmental Protection Act, perpetrators left an old mattress, loose pieces of plastic, piles of exposed old blankets and garbage bags filled with trash at the Thompson Rd location.

Salvos volunteers returned after the Easter break to dumped rubbish outside its North Geelong premises. This is despite cameras and warnings against dumping. Picture: Alison Wynd

A spokesman for Charitable Reuse Australia said: “If you wouldn’t give it to a friend, please don’t give it to charity”.

“Anything stained, broken, torn or worn out can’t be used,” he said.

The spokesman urged the public to “please call ahead or check the websites of individual charities for the types of products they accept, especially in relation to furniture and electricals which vary from organisation to organisation”.

It comes after the Salvos last year announced it was implementing AI technology at the North Geelong storyto crackdown on the practice, which costs it millions in disposal fees every year.

The Geelong Advertiser reported in January that the semi-autonomous system reduced the manual workload for staff, saving more than 180 hours a year by detecting unlawful dumping incidents in CCTV footage.

The current penalty for those caught dumping is an on the spot littering fine of $322, which can grow to $9900 when imposed by the court.

People who see someone dumping rubbish or dumped rubbish they can report it online to the city or call 5272 5272.

Originally published as Illegal rubbish dumpers target North Geelong Salvation Army