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Stop throwing waste in charity donation bins, campaign urges

22:59 21/08/2018

Three charities that collect and recycle used clothes have teamed up for a campaign to stop people throwing everyday waste in their donation bins.

Oxfam, Les Petits Riens and Terre estimate their annual clean-up cost at €700,000 as donated clothes and shoes are soiled by everything from used nappies to wine bottles.

Walloon environment minister Carlo Di Antonio said waste accounted for about 15% of the contents of the average charity bin.

An awareness campaign has begun in four communes with a view to extending it throughout Brussels and Wallonia. "Crime scene" signs and a security cordon have been attached to 43 donation bins, with a warning of the potential €350 fines for fly-tipping.

Wallonia and Brussels have 4,100 textile recycling bins, collecting 27,500 tonnes for charity each year. About 5% of the clothes collected are sold second-hand in Belgium and 55% are sent overseas.

Around 25% of the material is recycled and the rest is incinerated, with the generated heat used to produce electricity.

Written by The Bulletin

Comments

Anon3

People dump their household waste everywhere. In the forests, alongside roads.. You name it, they dump it. See the commuter routes.

Aug 22, 2018 15:23