Our cover photo shows the dumping season has begun again. Our cover photo is the scene that greeted Vinnies’ drivers at St Michael’s this morning. The items in the white bags are the items dumped outside the bins and left to get wet and ruined. It costs Vinnies more to sort out if any of the items can be saved. This photo was taken before they even emptied the bins.
The frustrating thing is there are places to recycle some of these dumped goods.
In 2017 the EPA noted in a report of dumping and charity clothing bins:
“Recent research shows that approximately half the people who donate to charity lack awareness of ‘appropriate donation practices’. This means nearly 50% of the community are unsure of the type and quality of items that are acceptable for donating to charity. This confusion is compounded by the fact that charitable recycling organisations differ in the types of goods they can and cannot accept. With no awareness about appropriate donation behaviour, well-meaning, ‘unintentional dumpers’, may leave the responsibility of selecting useable items to charity staff. Unusable items then become the responsibility of the charity to dispose of.”
Op Shops in Lane Cove
There are three “op” shops in Lane Cove.
Vinnies
Red Cross – curated store only accepts clothes and books.
Goodwill Op Shop – reopening 12 January 2021. Please don’t leave any donations outside while they are closed.
If you have designer label clothes that you no longer wear why not sell them on consignment at Bec and Bel or find some new pre-loved designer clothes. More information here.
Clothing Bins
Charity Clothing Bins used to be dotted all around Lane Cove. Now there are fewer bins. Bins have been removed from Rosenthal Avenue and the Caltex Service Station on Burns Bay Road. The Smith Family Donation bins will soon be removed from the Coles Supermarket car park.
The Smith Family made the following announcement on their website:
“Effective January 2020, The Smith Family no longer operates in clothing recycling and is no longer able to accept clothing donations. We still highly encourage clothing recycling, and there are a number of clothing bins that are run by other charity organisation.”
The Smith Family is currently in the process of removing the bins from each suburb.
Flow On Impact to Charity Stores
Items are regularly left in front of the stores (particularly after long weekends). Dumping items in front of these stores is a hazard for footpath users. People will often go through the donated items and remove them from their bags and leave them all over the footpath.
With fewer clothing bins, more items will be left outside stores.
Donations should only be made during open hours to ensure the donations are left where the charity shop can sort them.
This was the mess outside Vinnies Lane Cove after the Australia Day Long Weekend 2020.
Options for Donating Clothes and Recycling
Many different organisations offer an alternative to donating via a clothing bin here are just a few of them.
In the Cove is a member of the Lower North Shore Free Stuff and Low Waste Living Facebook Group. At the start of the year, ITC was decluttering, and we posted heaps of items on this site to pass on to someone who needed an item (a trampoline, saxophone, handbags and much more). It was such a lovely feeling to give items to people who would reuse them.
THE BOWER Reuse & Repair Centre (Marrickville, New South Wales)
The Bower is an environmental not-for-profit committed to reducing landfill.
Their range of services and programs are all based on reuse and repair ethos – this is the principle that guides everything they do.
The Bower has agreements with over 20 Sydney metropolitan councils to collect unwanted household goods and rehome them including Lane Cove Council.
Acceptable Donations List
Below is listed all the types of items the Bower accepts as donations.
- Electronic Appliances
- Furniture
- Kitchenware
- Books & Music
- Doors & Windows
- Gardening
- Hardware & Tools
- Timber
- Building Supplies
- Plumbing Supplies
- Bric-a-Brac
- Sports & Leisure
- Bikes & Bike Parts
- Tiles & Pavers (Boxed)
- Clothing
- Whitegoods
Items they Cannot Accept
Unfortunately, there are a few categories of items the Bower cannot accept, due to their construction, reusability, or safety requirements.
- Entertainment Units (Large)
- Chipboard & MDF
- Linen & Soft Furnishings
- Gas Appliances
- Mattresses & Sofabeds
- Baby & Children’s products
- Column Heaters & Plastic Fans
- Office Furniture
Remote Op Shops
Remote Opshop Project supports the development of op-shops in Aboriginal communities throughout remote Australia. These community-driven social enterprises generate independent funding that is used to seed local startups, creative projects and answers local needs.
Via this micro-enterprise, Remote Opshop Project facilitates capacity building workshops to develop entrepreneurial competencies, that strengthen and enhance families and community. The op-shop provides a safe and supportive learning environment, to develop and grow ideas. The Remote OpShop Project aims to foster community-based enterprises and cooperatives operating with a circular economy model. Tackling resource constraints in remote Indigenous communities by reimaging waste into a valuable commodity that can be used locally or exported.
The Online Platform
Is an exchange-framework, diverting pre-loved goods from landfill to support the development of the op-shops. The platform is intentionally designed to enable goods to be sent directly from donors to community groups. Greatly reducing overheads, by removing the need for large-scale infrastructure, transportation and administration, incurred by a traditional op-shop model.This structure also encourages the responsible disposal of pre-loved goods by the original manufacturer or purchaser and minimises the dumping of un-usable and broken items.This ensures precious funds are distributed to support the impact driven mission, vision and goals of the organisation.
Items We Need Most:
- All bed linen (sheets, pillow case, Doona covers)
- Towels
- Kids clothes
- Women’s dresses
- Skirts
- Blank t-shirts (plain no labels on the front)
- Men’s shorts, pants, shirts
- Fabric
- Basically most other things.
- Lightweight closed in shoes (runners ideal- used for hunting and fishing on rocks-leather no good)(Please don’t send anything ripped, stained, not suitable to sell)
Dress for Success
What would you wear to a job interview? That is exactly the type of clothing Dress for Success is looking for to distribute to their clients. Your fabulous suits and other professional apparel could furnish another woman with the confidence to enter or return to the workplace, make a great first impression and land a job that could change her life. You can find out more here.
Second Hand Footy Boots
Boots For Africa (B4A) is a not-for-profit organisation that collects pre‐loved football boots and delivers them to children and young adults across Africa. The charity began in 2011 in Australia and was founded by Sarah Gardner. One of this charity’s main goals is to make the sport more accessible to young people in developing nations.
DONATE your old football boots and sports equipment (e.g. headgear, shin pads, witches hats, balls, etc.) to the people of Africa to help build communities and social understandings through the power of the game. Details here.
Items (other than Clothing)
There are options to recycle many items that are currently dumped outside Charity Shops or Clothing Bins. The Community Recycling Centre at Artarmon is still open and is the place to drop off your hard to recycle goods and E-Waste. More information here.
Check out our A to Z of Recycling list and see where you can recycle those hard to get rid of items.
Books
Drop them at one of the street libraries in Lane Cove or drop them at Lindfield for Lifeline Book Fair. There is a 24/7 Drop off point at Ignatius and Ponting Roads Linfield, or you can donate to the Bower, and they will pick up for free. You can also drop them off to the three “op” shops in Lane Cove, but larger donations might need to be taken to Lifeline.
The Generous and the Grateful
The Generous and the Grateful’s West Ryde warehouse is open Wednesday 10:00 am – 12:00 pm; Thursday 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm; Saturday 10:am – 12:00 pm. to accept contactless donations. They need fridges, washing machines, beds, tallboys, televisions and TV units.
Need a pickup? Can you help to cover transport costs? As a new not-for-profit, we use our limited funds to test, collate and dispatch home essentials packages to our recipients in need, at no cost to them personally. When you help get your items to us, we conserve funds so we can help more people, long into the future.
A small donation towards costs, e.g., $35 to collect a few items on a day when our truck is in your area, can make a HUGE difference.
Please only submit an offer if you have an item to share in beautiful used condition and can pitch in towards the cost of picking it up from you in our catchment. No exceptions.
Urgent Needs:
Fridge Freezers
Washing machines – Front and top loaders
Bed bases and mattresses
Televisions
TV units
Quality
Are the items you wish to donate in GREAT condition? (That means damage and stain-free, all parts present, in full working order and washed out, ready to deliver). Electricals must be less than 15 years old, please. They ONLY take great items to create a welcoming home and make someone feel respected and empowered.
Be Prepared
We cannot pick up your items for free. GG is a new and growing nonprofit. A week’s notice or more helps us keep up with processing and handling. We use our limited funds to deliver packages to our lovely recipients at no cost to them, so we ask our donors to please choose one of the following:
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Directly Book and PAY our trusted, affordable transport contractor to pick it up on a day that suits you.
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Book and PAY GG to pick it up on a GG Scheduled Transporter day (Weds/Fri).
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Drop the item(s) to our warehouse in Hope Street, West Ryde on Wednesday 10:00 am – 12:00 pm; Thursday 6:45 pm – 8:00 pm; Saturday 10:am – 12:00 pm.
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IF you have a fridge or washing machine, and cannot cover the transport costs you can ask for a sponsored pickup, please note we do not have an ongoing funding and are all volunteers.
Christmas Break
We are taking a much-needed break so are closed for general donations between 11 Dec 2020 and 11 Jan 2021. With this said, we ALWAYS need fridges and washing machines so if you have them and simply cannot wait till Jan 11 to offer it to us, please call our preferred transporter Gerald Gordon on 0428 070 411. You will book and pay him directly for the urgent 1 off collection; it may cost more than our usual contributions as it is not combined in our transport days. Thank you so much for the extra crucial support during this time.
Wishing you a peaceful and regenerative end to 2020.
Services Not Operating During COVID19
Clothing Clean Up
This is a commercial enterprise that will pick up clothing from your door. Details here. Operations suspended during COVID19.
The Uplift Project
In the developing world, a bra is often unavailable or unaffordable. Used and new bras are sent worldwide. Drop off, and postal details are here. Uplift is not taken donations since COVID 19 started.
Local News At Your Fingertips
In the Cove is run by locals. It is the only online hyperlocal news and media business based in Lane Cove. We provide local free news – we do not have a paywall and will never have a paywall.
Facebook In the Cove – Local News and Media
Lane Cove Chat by ITC – Chat with other Lane Cove locals about local issues, lost pets, local info and more on our closed Lane Cove Facebook group. We closely monitor membership, to make sure (as much as possible) that members either live or work in Lane Cove.
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Please read our latest newsletter here.
Instagram – Follow our adventures around Lane Cove as we snap our lovely leafy Lane Cove.
