THE Salvation Army Wagga is urging residents to stop leaving rubbish/items on the public footpath outside of its premises.
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Wagga Salvation Army corps officer David Hopewell said it has become a trend for volunteers and workers to have to clean up mass piles, most of which consist of rubbish, from the footpath on a weekly basis.
"We come in on a Monday morning and the first thing we do is clear out the street," he said.
"It happens every week, every weekend when we're not open, then we come back to a huge mess left outside of the store."
This week was particularly hard for workers when they had to come in during their holiday period to pick up the mess left outside of the premises last Monday.
The chore of cleaning up the mess is not only unpleasant and time-consuming but also costly.
"Half goes into a skip bin and that goes out every week and we have to pay for that," Mr Hopewell said.
While volunteers and staff are thankful for community donations, most of which is being "dumped" outside of The Salvation Army is no condition for them to re-sell.
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"If you wouldn't sell it to a friend, why would you give it to us," Mr Hopewell said.
"It needs to be of good quality for us to sell and most of it is not and we have to take it to the tip."
Mr Hopewell said they are trying to get the message across without having to take further action.
"We're reluctant to put up cameras and prosecute people, because, as I said, we're the Salvation Army and we rely on people's donations, but it is becoming quite dangerous when they leave them outside after hours on a public footpath," he said.
Mr Hopewell said the rubbish is also unpleasant for neighbouring buildings and residences.
"It's also not pleasant for our neighbours who have to see it and look at it on weekends," he said.
Mr Hopewell said leaving the donations outside of the premises is not necessary.
"We're open from Monday to Friday, five days a week, from 9am to 5pm and people can come and donate their goods between 9am and 2:30pm," he said.
"They can drive into the store and we will actually take them out for them. '
Donations will, however, have to wait until the new year as The Salvation Army Wagga will not be accepting donations until January 10, 2022.
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