Garbage donations a problem for local and regional charities

Above: William Sullivan and a helper load a futon onto the truck that someone dropped off at the charity bins in Morinville. The item and a truckload of others will go straight to a landfill. Below: Items outside and inside Sullivan’s truck contain material that cannot be used by the charity he hauls for. – Stephen Dafoe Photos

by Stephen Dafoe

A drive by the charity bins in the No Frills parking lot in Morinville has had a lot of heads shaking of late. Broken recliners, old furniture, TVs, electronics and half broken lamps can regularly be seen dumped off outside the closed bins people are supposed to put their items in.

William Sullivan, the transportation manager of the company subcontracted to pick up the charitable goods said the Morinville pick up location is the worst of the stops he makes on behalf of two charities, the Cerebral Palsy Association In Alberta, and the Canadian Mental Health Association.

“We come here every Tuesday and it’s always like this,” Sullivan said, noting he has to cart away the unusable materials, disposing of it at a cost to the charities. “We can’t leave it. It’s a civic duty for us to pick it up because if we left it, who’s going to pick it up?

The cost of taking unusable items to the landfill is money that could be used by the charity. “Mattresses cost $10 to get rid of [at the landfill].”

He’s left shaking his head because many items like broken TVs are taken at landfills and EcoStations and recycled.

“The cords are worth money themselves,” he said, noting other parts inside a TV set can be reused. “Our pickups just go to the landfill.”

But the two charities by No Frills are not alone in having unwanted garbage dumped on their doorstep.

The Midstream Support Society’s Thrift Store continues to have a problem with people dropping off unusable goods, particularly when they are closed.

“We’re still getting a lot of unusable stuff. Our garbage trailer is going to the landfill sometimes two times a week. It’s full,” said Midstream volunteer Sherron Wehrhahn, adding she and fellow volunteers encourage people to only drop off material during business hours.

“If somebody phones, we ask them to please come during business hours because it ends up in the dump,” she said of materials dropped off and left outside in the elements. “Furniture. They love dumping furniture on the weekend. We have no place for it inside. Right now we have furniture sitting outside because we have no place to put it.”


The situation has not improved a great deal since this 2016 file photo was taken at the Midstream. Items are still dropped off that cannot be used.

The Midstream is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. A recent lack of volunteers prompted the non-profit to reduce their hours earlier this year.

The Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta has clothing drop off bins at No Frills, The Rendez-Vous Centre, Circle K, and Morinville United Church, according to their website. They have no scheduled in-home pick-ups for Morinville presently.

An email request for comment from the Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta was not responded to by our story deadline.

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21 Comments

  1. People need to stop dumping their unusable crap onto these charitys to get rid of!! I have seen so much junk dumped in front of those bins over the course of many years. Is there a way to put up cameras to catch who does it and make them accountable?!

  2. Hopefully this article brings shame to those that feel inclined to make their garbage someone else’s problem. Not only are they costing these charities money, but they clearly care about the environment like it’s the 60s. SHAME!

  3. This is such a huge issue. I feel terrible for the businesses that provide donation bins out of the goodness of their hearts. People seem to have a sense of entitlement when it comes to dumping their crap. Even when it’s clothing being donated, they feel like it’s fine to drop off total garbage that’s stained and full of holes. But full pieces of furniture?! SHAME!

  4. oddly, if you were to take your junk to the dump, you really don’t even notice a spike in your bill…….disgusting is right, if you’re going to take it and dump it somewhere, why not take the extra 5 min drive out to the landfill, it’s as easy to dump it there……

  5. Yes this community really takes advantage of things like this, it isn’t just the charities, I was at the reuse it or loose it and I watched stuff get pulled off the truck right to the garbage truck and soo much stuff just dumped there. (Don’t get me wrong lots of usable) those people are probably the ones who do this to the charities and it says terrible 🙁

  6. If my stuff is not clean and in good shape I don’t give it away. It’s really quite simple but some people don’t understand or care

  7. Indeed this network truly exploits things like this, it isn’t only the causes, I was at the reuse it or free it and I watched stuff get pulled off the truck right to the waste vehicle and soo much stuff just dumped there. (Try not to misunderstand me bunches of usable) those individuals are most likely the ones who do this to the foundations and it says awful

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