Fly-tipping drains money from hospice patients

Shocking scenes of fly-tipping outside St Luke’s Hospice shops across Harrow and Brent have prompted the charity to urge residents not to leave donations outside its shops.

Fly-tipping has become a daily problem at St Luke’s shops, with staff and volunteers regularly arriving to find bags of clothing, furniture and household items dumped outside shop entrances.

Recent incidents at the charity’s Harrow Weald shop have seen large quantities of items strewn across the footpath overnight, creating additional work for shop teams and costing the hospice money to clear.

Sharon DeFreitas, Retail Operations Manager at St Luke’s Hospice, said: “Many people think they’re leaving a donation. But the moment it’s left on the footpath, it stops being a donation and becomes rubbish. We can’t use it, we can’t sell it and we have to pay to remove it.

“Every bag left outside drains resources that should be helping to fund hospice care.”

Items left outside can become damaged or contaminated overnight, while bags are sometimes opened and their contents scattered across the pavement.

Sharon explained: “If an item is left outside overnight, you don’t know what’s happened to it. Animals could have contaminated it, it could have been damaged by the weather, or people could have gone through the bags, taken what they want and left everything scattered across the footpath. It’s simply not safe and we can’t use it.

“It’s a cost to us in terms of waste disposal, but it’s also a cost in staff and volunteer time. Instead of serving customers, sorting donations and raising money for patients and families, they’re having to clear flytipping from outside our shops.”

The problem affects shops across Harrow and Brent, with Sharon receiving reports and photographs of items left outside every day.

“I get pictures every day. Sometimes it’s one bag, sometimes it’s five or six, but there’s nearly always something left outside,” she said.

St Luke’s stressed that it is enormously grateful for the donations it receives from the local community.

“The money raised through our shops helps us provide vital care and support to local people and their families,” Sharon said. “But no one is doing the hospice a favour by leaving things outside. If it’s left on the footpath, it’s fly-tipping. Fly-tipping is an offence, and instead of raising money for the hospice, those items end up costing us money.”

Her message to would-be donors is simple: “Please bring your donations into the shop during opening hours and hand them to a member of the team. If the shop is closed, come back when it reopens or visit another St Luke’s shop.

“We want your donations. We just need them to reach us safely so we can turn them into money for hospice care.”

The call comes at a time when St Luke’s Hospice is also asking donors to separate clean but unwearable clothing and textiles into a different bag marked “rag”.

The campaign, called “Bag your Rag”,  helps shop teams identify items for textile recycling quickly, saving time and ensuring they can still raise money for hospice care.

Anyone wishing to donate furniture or larger items should contact St Luke’s before visiting.

Large items such as furniture and electricals can be collected for donation. Bags and boxes may also be included as part of a larger collection that includes furniture or large electricals.   

Alternatively, you can arrange a collection by calling 020 8909 2311 (Monday to Friday from 10am to 3.30pm) or email furnituresales@stlukes-hospice.org