Brisbane resident Sarah Deery made a donation of clothes to her local charity, only to be "punished" months later with a fine for almost $250.
Ms Deery said she was left shocked and wanting answers after the Brisbane City Council issued her a $243 fine in June alleging she left "waste" outside the Salvos Store, Lutwyche, in February.
She is one of 761 people slapped with fines for placing items outside a charity store in Brisbane in the past financial year.
"It's not like I'm dropping off crappy, soiled mattresses or anything like that, it's actual stuff people can use," Ms Deery said.
Salvos Store Brisbane area manager Stuart Estreich said the Lutwyche store had security cameras in store and the council had cameras on the street outside.
"I believe the council receives a lot of complaints about the stuff left out the front of the store and I think that's why they've acted upon it," he said.
"I hope the public realise it's not Salvos issuing the fines, it's purely the council doing this."
He said 95 per cent of donations left at stores out of hours were unable to be used.
"The issue for us is when people do donate out of hours, those donations generally get wrecked because they are exposed to the elements or undesirable people destroy them," Mr Estreich said.
"Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year goes into ensuring we can get rid of the dumped stuff."
Ms Deery said after receiving the fine she read why leaving items outside was an issue.
"I acknowledge that it can be a problem for the stores, but why aren't (the charities) getting the money?" she said.
"Why is council getting the money and not the charities?"
Council's Lifestyle and Community Services chairman Matthew Bourke said if a donation was not put in a donation bin, it was considered illegal dumping.
"Council installed CCTV and signage at this Salvation Army store to monitor illegal dumping and remind people of the consequences," Cr Bourke said.
"This action was taken following ongoing complaints about illegal dumping at this site."
Cr Bourke said the council spent about $800,000 cleaning up illegal dumping each year.
"Both council and charities bear the costs of removing illegal dumping at sites right across the city."
The 761 council-issued fines for littering in response to items being left outside charity stores in the past financial year total $184,680.
Ms Deery has contacted the council to dispute the fine.
She posted to the council's Facebook page and said the letter and fine she received was ridiculous.
"The waste (items in perfect condition) were not obstructing any footpath and there were in fact other people kindly donating at the same time," her post said.
"What a pathetic money grab and punishment for wanting to help out the community.
"I'm sure this money you are demanding isn't going to charity either.
"Why don't you provide bins for those of us who work and don't fit into the 9-5pm hours of the store."
Ms Deery said while she understood the council may still make her pay the fine, she wanted to share her story to make people aware and to call for a solution.
"I don't understand how hard it can be to get a couple more pick-ups made each day. Outside the Salvos store there isn't even any after-hours bins there."
Mr Estreich said residents could donate to stores during business hours or could phone 13 72 58 to organise donations to be picked up.
0 comments
New User? Sign up