Charity bins turning into trash receptacles
People are dumping way too much junk into charity bins around town. I’m not quite grasping why the pandemic has made this problem so much worse – is it that people are spending more time at home, and doing more to make their living spaces more pleasant?
MarcG 16:07 on 2020-12-18 Permalink
I remember hearing about this problem in the spring. My brother and his wife had a room in their house filled with stuff they’ve been meaning to sort through forever but never had the time for… but they finally did since there wasn’t much else to do.
GC 19:33 on 2020-12-18 Permalink
I also sorted through some boxes that I’ve been meaning to do for years. It’s not just about making the living space more pleasant, but also just having more time at home to use for the process.
I’ve been trying to properly dispose of things, however. Some furniture went on Freecycle. Not much has seemed like something a charity would want, so it’s just been trash. I’m all for donating what you can, but it is frustrating when people use charity bins like garbage cans.
dhomas 19:43 on 2020-12-18 Permalink
+1 for Freecycle. Just because I don’t use it anymore, doesn’t mean someone else can’t. I much prefer to give my stuff to someone who I know wants it and will use it rather than put it in with other crap where it could get bedbugs or go to waste some other way. It’s a little more work (and it annoys my wife because the stuff goes away piecemeal), but I really do not like wastefulness.
GC 12:10 on 2020-12-19 Permalink
Definitely, dhomas. There are things that I don’t necessarily think are worth enough money to try resell–or I can’t be bothered with the hassle–but if someone else comes and gets it and uses it that’s so much better than it going to a landfill.
MarcG 13:11 on 2020-12-19 Permalink
If you put things out on the curb for your garbage day a bit early you’ll often find takers. I was putting out an old table and chair in the spring and a guy actually pulled over in his car and said “is that garbage?” like I was a crazy person and starting loading it up. Anything with metal the scrappers will grab. I live on a busy street though so YMMV, and obviously it’s a bit more of a dice-roll than freecycle since it will just go to the landfill with the trash if nobody grabs it.
dhomas 05:57 on 2020-12-20 Permalink
Some stuff I know scrappers will take and I leave it front for them. Anything metal, generally. And sometimes things I know people will take, as well. Like MarcG, I once put out a table and chairs (featuring Lightning McQueen!) that my kids had outgrown and someone took it as I was putting it outside! Other stuff needs a bit more time for the right person to find it and that’s when I use Freecycle, when I don’t think it’s worth my time to resell.