In the more than 30 years John Semmler has been involved in Barossa Valley Rotary Club, never has he seen so much rubbish left around Nuriootpa’s clothing collection bin as he has in the past few weeks.
And it’s a trend that is continuing to grow, much to the dismay of those involved in the fundraising project.
“This is not a rubbish bin!” John said.
Broken, unusable and unsalable items are being left piled alongside the bin located in the car park of The Co-op Store, resulting in additional costs for the Club and less money being re-directed back into the community.
“Unfortunately, it is costing in the vicinity of $2,000 a year to dispose of unusable items and rubbish placed in the bin by people who do not accept the responsibility of correctly disposing of their waste,” said John.
“The community misses out on these funds.”
Volunteers from Tanunda’s Great Revival Shop and the Truro Community Shop sort through all the clothing on a regular basis and money raised from its sales go towards community projects including the highly valued university Scholarships for local students.
Barossa Valley Rotary Club are urging people who have items other than used clothing that are suitable for resale, to please take them directly to an opportunity shop.
“Volunteers at these organisations will gladly receive useful items,” John said.
“If the items are unsuitable for resale or just plain rubbish, please accept the responsibility of correct disposal rather than resorting to what is, in fact, illegal dumping.”
Discussions with other service groups have revealed they are all facing similar problems and John said the Club would be forced to discontinue the service if rubbish continues to be dumped.
“It would be a considerable loss to the community.”
The Barossa Valley Rotary Club and the shops they support are grateful to the many people who have supplied useful clothing since the inception of the system back in the 1980s.
“With your co-operation we will be able to continue this worthwhile service to our community,” added John.