Fly-tipping hits charity shops with financial headache | UK News

Four black bags of empty DVD boxes and toys so damp they were unusable – these are just some of the items left outside charity shops recently.

Two things are pretty certain in January. Firstly, new year de-cluttering and unwanted Christmas presents mean a large amount of donations.

But secondly, the weather is generally bad, meaning if they are left outside shops, they often become unusable, with charities being hit with “skyrocketing” financial costs in disposing of them.

The Welsh government said it welcomed “the good intentions” of people who wanted to donate their unwanted items to help “end a throwaway culture”, but added: “Donations should always be made responsibly, as fly-tipping is a crime.”

Local authorities were also quick to point out the potential repercussions, with anyone caught fly-tipping liable to be hit with a fixed penalty notice of up to £400.

It is leaving charities with an unwanted headache, with funds being diverted from the good causes they were set up to support, to dispose of these items.

“We recently had a car pull up outside our gate, dumping four black bags of empty DVD boxes even though we were open,” said Lesley Reynolds, who runs the Waste Not Want Not charity warehouse in Oakdale, Caerphilly.

“It’s irresponsible.”

She said when staff returned after Christmas “piles of stuff was blocking the entrance”.

Lesley is also the director of The Magic Cottage, which has a charity shop in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, and says fly-tipping is “a regular occurrence”.

“They leave everything and anything,” she added.

“People don’t need to dump donations, we will take whatever we can.”

Most donations come before Christmas, though, with parents often bringing in toys that can be sold as presents, and she added: “It’s a pleasure to open a bag you know you can use.”

Staff at the Hope Rescue charity shop in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, are often left to deal with damp items which quickly turn to waste after being left outside.

“When donations are left outside the shop, the chances are it’s not going to useable at all,” said retail manager Claire Samuel.

Natural Resources Wales said land owners were responsible for paying to remove and dispose of any fly-tipped waste on private property.

It advised they record the incident, report it to the local authority and then remove the waste.

Claire said waste expenses had “skyrocketed”, adding: “If people go through the trouble of sorting out items that can be resold, leaving them outside undoes that positive effort.

“Sometimes people leave really bulky items like car seats and pushchairs outside the shop which we can’t sell for safety reasons.

“We are so grateful for people who make the effort to bring items in to us. We want them to come in and see their items on the shop floor.”

At the start of last year, Enfys Foundation Reuse & Restore charity store in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, put up a customer notice on its social media pages after donations were left outside over the Christmas period.

This year the charity found fewer donations left outside but, instead, people had simply taken them to the nearest quiet spot to dump them.

“We find piles in the car park sometimes where people have been told we can’t accept their items, so they put them behind the car and then drive away,” a spokesperson said.

Programme lead at environmental charity WRAP Cymru, Emma Hallett, said leaving donations outside charity shops could be a real challenge for both the charities and local communities.

Items that are not suitable for donation could be re-gifted for birthdays, sold online, recycled or exchanged where possible, she suggested.

A spokesperson from Rhondda Cynon Taf council said: “While these items may have been intended as a well-meaning donation, leaving items outside charity shops is fly-tipping and illegal.”

The council said it would use every power available to hold those accountable for their actions.

A Caerphilly council spokesperson said: “We urge people to donate items responsibly during shop opening hours or use our household recycling centres.”

The Welsh government said it continued to fund Fly-tipping Action Wales “that supports local authorities with their enforcement activities, monitors fly-tipping levels and helps raise awareness”.