A city councillor has urged people to use common sense and hold onto items if they can’t dispose of them properly after a “mountain of clothing” was left next to a clothing bank.
The clothes, which have now been removed, were left on the ground around The Salvation Army clothes bank at Earlham House Shops, in Norwich.
One person, who described the fly-tipping as “a mountain of clothing” said they were concerned the items had been left out in the open, exposed to animals and the elements.
The items have now been removed but Paul Neale, Green Party councillor for Nelson Ward, has urged people to use common sense and not to fly-tip.
Mr Neale said: “Councillors have been on top of it, and we have had environmental health take action and so it is now cleared.”
Addressing members of the public, he said: “If the bin is full please use common sense and hold onto it until there is space because The Salvation Army, like most charities, don’t have the retail space at the moment.
“If the bins are full don’t dump it on the ground, just hold onto it until things have got back to normal.
“Most charities have closed their shops down so they people will just have to hold on to clothes.
“It’s not like it’s food waste, people have an option not to put it there at this stage.”
At the end of April, The Salvation Army appealed to people not to fly-tip outside closed charity shops and clothing banks.
The charity said the cost of clearing away fly-tipping outside its shops and clothing banks was costing it thousands, which would otherwise be spent on helping homeless and vulnerable people.
It said despite pleas for people to hold on to donations early on in the pandemic, many clothing banks and charity shops were still being overwhelmed with dumped donations which were attracting vermin and becoming a health hazard.
The Salvation Army is one of the largest clothing bank collector in the country, last year is its clothing banks and charity shops raised £9m for the church and charity.
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