People won't stop dumping at donation bins. This trucking company is cleaning up the mess

Canadian charities that are already dealing with tight margins and layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic are now having to find ways to remove donations that people will not stop leaving beside their collection bins.

People in the midst of spring cleaning are leaving behind bags of clothes, unwanted items and in some cases even garbage — and it's costing the charities.

"The vast majority of the items are wet, soiled, completely unusable and go straight to landfill, which is completely the opposite of what the intention of the donor would have been," said Sean Shannon, president and CEO of National Diabetes Trust, which is the social enterprise arm for Diabetes Canada.

In mid-March, many charities stopped accepting donations and asked people not to leave things at bins. They had no staff to collect the items and their retail partners, which resell the donations, were closed.

Charities urged donors to hold on to their donations until a later date. And while things have improved, the bags are still coming in.

"They maybe don't think it through that it's actually costing the charity money," said Shelda Cochrane, manager of community engagement at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Halifax.

Cochrane said people are even leaving things they know the charities don't accept, such as mattresses. She said they've taped their bins shut, but people are pulling the tape off and putting things inside.

"When they're leaving these things and we have to take them to the dump and spend the money, it's taking away from our programs for youth. It's spending money that we're not then able to spend on young people," Cochrane said.

"Every penny at this point is having an impact."

But for National Diabetes Trust, an unlikely ally has stepped up to help.

Last month, the charity released an open letter to municipalities, asking them to help clear the garbage and soiled textiles from around the donation bins, saying it didn't have the funds or the resources to do so.

Denis Cordick, vice-president of marketing and partnerships with moving truck company AMJ Campbell, saw the charity's online plea and offered to help.

"AMJ is always trying to help in our communities wherever we can," said Cordick, who also has Type 1 diabetes, as does his daughter.

"We wanted to keep our crews busy during the COVID crisis. We had open times and open availability, so why not put our trucks and crews to good use?"

'It's a big problem'

Cordick said the company is also busy delivering cookies for the Girl Guides of Canada and helping move items for food banks across the country.

Crews have already cleaned up 400 Diabetes Canada donation bin sites in Ontario and Manitoba at no cost to the charity. They are planning to clean up bins on the East Coast next week.

"I would say it's a big problem. People seem to just ignore the fact that the bins are full and they're just dropping clothes or in some cases garbage around them," Cordick said.

"Anything in the bins, we open it up and smell it and if it's OK we keep it. We're storing all of their clothing until this comes to an end and they can use it again."

In some places where the donations are coming in at a rapid rate, Cordick said, they've even picked up the bins and moved them into storage.

Shannon said before AMJ Campbell's "remarkable" offer, the National Diabetes Trust had feared the extensive cost of hiring a third party to remove items from their 5,000 bins across Canada.

"We looked at it as a charity, and said, 'Well, No. 1, we're shut down, so it's not even practical. No. 2, if we hire third parties, it's going to drain the charity hugely of the revenue.'"

Shannon said they normally take in 100 million pounds of clothing donations a year, which turns into $6 million usable revenue for Diabetes Canada.

He expects the economic damage of the pandemic to be "significant."

Charities hope to start accepting again soon

But the charities hope people won't have to hold on to their donations for too much longer, although each province will be different and much will depend on when retail stores can reopen.

Big Brothers Big Sisters said it's looking at "likely a few weeks" before donation bins will be up and running again, but Cochrane said they're also considering appointment drop-off slots for people "who are really desperate."

Shannon said he also hopes the National Diabetes Trust can find ways to give back to the company that's helping them.

"We had no previous working relationship with AMJ Campbell. I certainly hope we will find ways to work with them in the future — and pay them," he said, laughing. "They've been incredibly kind and generous with their time and resources."