Debbie Cameron, from Good Samaritan Industries, at charity bins in Kensington.
Camera IconDebbie Cameron, from Good Samaritan Industries, at charity bins in Kensington. Credit: Supplied/Marie Nirme        d446316

New campaign to curb illegal dumping

Caitlin TillerEastern Reporter

The Salvation Army, Good Samaritan Industries, St Vincent de Paul Society WA, Anglicare WA and the Spine and Limb Foundation received a $100,000 grant from the Waste Authority to create the site www.giv.org.au this month, which aims to reduce clean-up costs.

Good Samaritan Industries spokeswoman Debbie Cameron said the charities involved generate tons of donations a day from more than 1000 donation bins across WA but annual removal costs for items not placed inside the bins was about $312,000.

“This campaign is focused on educating people in the community who mean well and who want to donate their pre-loved items to charity to ensure they place the items inside a donation bin and not adjacent to it, which does in fact lead to illegal dumping,” she said.

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“The vast majority of people who visit one of our donation stations and realise they can’t easily deposit their items in the bin think they are doing the right thing by leaving their donations outside.

“In actual fact, this causes huge headaches for our organisations in the form of complaints from councils, shopping centres and the public, and by increasing anti-social behaviour.”

Ms Cameron said people could find out the “where, what and how” of giving and disposing of their unwanted items.

Environment Minister Albert Jacob said the website would help to reduce illegal dumping at the charities’ premises.

“Overall, the potential benefits of this campaign are enormous,” he said.

“Better disposal of goods will result in less waste going to landfill and support the valuable role these charities play in the community.”

Illegal dumping should be reported to the Department of Environment Regulation hotline on 1300 784 782.