MORNINGTON Peninsula communities are being urged not to leave donations at charity bins that are already overflowing, with a recent case in Hastings highlighting the public nuisance element of dumping.
In recent months dozens of bags of charity donations have been left around the Deafness Victoria charity bins outside Coles in Hastings, with uncovered items exposed to the weather. Pictures of the mess show the two bins and the surrounding area overflowing with donations which have to be taken to the tip. All phone numbers listed online for Deafness Victoria, the charity raising money for the deaf community, have been disconnected.
Coles has told The News that it had contacted the people responsible for the bins and a clean-up had begun.
Charities say they are losing millions of dollars a year to illegal dumping, with the start of every year the height of dumping season.
Charities Recycling Australia estimates the illegal dumping at charity centres costs around $418 million a year to clean up, and renders most of the items unusable.
First published in the Mornington News – 16th April 2024
