Local charities are being inundated with garbage, as people use their drop-off locations as dumpsters.
The Re-Store in Barrie, like many other charities, deals with afterhours dumping on a regular basis. On Monday alone, a dresser could be seen dumped in a snowbank.
“Afterhours illegal dumping. They bring stuff, something they don’t want, they dump it at our store and it’s a cost to us,” says Sarah Sutton. “It’s increased every year.”
In fact, Monday’s tend to be the worst day, as many people tend to dump more on Sunday nights after closing.
“It's by the front door or they bring it to the back door. We could have a rainy day; everything is soggy and we have to throw it out and we have to pay for the dumping,” says Betty Zondervan, manager at the Barrie Bible for Missions Thrift Store.
The store has to make two trips to the dump every week. People leave everything from dishes to clothing.
The Salvation Army thrift store spent $10,000 last year getting rid of trash. The charity is currently going through some renovations and isn’t accepting donations. Officials have placed several signs stating this, but dumping has persisted.
It's a costly problem that customers say hurts everyone.
“These people shouldn't be held captive that way so to speak. You know, this is a good cause,” says Mike Dehnicke.
Charities say they’re grateful for donations, but ask they only be brought in during business hours.
