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Goodwill Doesn't Want Your Broken Toaster


dinneR

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https://www.npr.org/2021/05/06/993821945/goodwill-doesnt-want-your-broken-toaster

Cars begin lining up outside the Goodwill donation center in Seabrook, N.H., around 10 a.m. most mornings.

Well-intended patrons are here with truckloads full of treasures.

"We hope everyone brings great things that help our programs, but we know some people make some questionable judgments about what is good to donate," explains Heather Steeves, spokesperson for the 30 Goodwill locations in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

She holds up "a lampshade, which is stained and disgusting and literally falling apart."

There's a small table missing a leg, cracked purple food-storage containers and a used sponge. They're just a representative sample of the useless stuff dropped off the day before.

Broken glass is among items people donate to Goodwill.

Along with simply being gross, these items cost Goodwill money.

"All this trash adds up to more than $1 million a year in a trash bill, and it's been growing every year for the past five years," says Steeves. And that's just for the 30 stores she oversees.

Goodwill does recycle lots of what it can't sell. The nonprofit reuses textiles and refurbishes some broken electronics. But last year, it threw away more than 13 million pounds of waste — technically other people's garbage — across its locations in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

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I recycled my wife’s clothes into the furnace. A lot of memories went with them. Realistically I knew Goodwill couldn’t use most of them.

i talked to a truck driver one time in a truck stop on I-80. We were talking about how hard it was to get return loads from the east coast. He said he has a sure thing every time he needed a return load. Goodwill paid him to haul away donated clothing. I asked him where he took them. He said he has a farm in Ohio and he just dumps them in a field and burns them.

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9 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Trash is too complicated in some place (like CA!).  In VA, I can stick ANYTHING out to my curb and the guys will take it.  In CA, no effing way!  ...but Goodwill will :D

I never thought of that. Now I know where to dump my electronics.

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Just now, Longjohn said:

I recycled my wife’s clothes into the furnace. A lot of memories went with them. Realistically I knew Goodwill couldn’t use most of them.

i talked to a truck driver one time in a truck stop on I-80. We were talking about how hard it was to get return loads from the east coast. He said he has a sure thing every time he needed a return load. Goodwill paid him to haul away donated clothing. I asked him where he took them. He said he has a farm in Ohio and he just dumps them in a field and burns them.

Thank god Goodwill isn't a dog & cat shelter!!!!!

Has anyone looked into the Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine SPCA or Humane Societies????

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Just now, Longjohn said:

I never thought of that. Now I know where to dump my electronics.

My wife, as part of her executor duties, has become an expert on where and who accepts everything.  From consignment & FB marketplace to the various charities to the shred events and hazardous waste trash drop off.  She knows them all!  It is a real PITA dealing with it, but it makes some sense for sure.  But, despite @ChrisL's nudging, I still have no effing clue what to due with my empties!  I just recycle in the blue can, but feel like I should be getting $$$ instead :(

FTR, we got a "free load up to one ton" at the solid waste center out here voucher in the mail.  My wife was doing cart-wheels of joy!  Guess who needs to rent a truck now?

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37 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

My wife, as part of her executor duties, has become an expert on where and who accepts everything.  From consignment & FB marketplace to the various charities to the shred events and hazardous waste trash drop off.  She knows them all!  It is a real PITA dealing with it, but it makes some sense for sure.  But, despite @ChrisL's nudging, I still have no effing clue what to due with my empties!  I just recycle in the blue can, but feel like I should be getting $$$ instead :(

FTR, we got a "free load up to one ton" at the solid waste center out here voucher in the mail.  My wife was doing cart-wheels of joy!  Guess who needs to rent a truck now?

We take them to a local Jr College that has a recycling center.  We go maybe 3-4 times a year, basically when the bags of Al & plastic gets out of hand & takes up too much room in the garage. 

We generally get $30-$40 each load so it’s worth the effort for us. I’m sure you could find some recycling centers near you on the googles.

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In our condo building, some condo board members willingly take recycleable empty cans, etc. for some cash. Then they used it to buy our building's  common Christmas tree, decorations, planters, etc.

I wish there was a more convenient way to donate used clothing.  There are no longer public bins with drop chute since a homeless person in Vancouver died, when they went diving into one and got stuck.  I don't feel like going to consignment clothing shops for some of my stuff...it's not exactly designer wear.

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2 minutes ago, shootingstar said:

Kinda terrible to be dumping broken/unusable stuff to Goodwill. I appreciate if donors are giving away alot of stuff. But sometimes if some sorting can be done in advance for a small pile.  I will discard literally clothing that is stained/hard to wash stuff out.

I see it at our Goodwill all the time.  People basically dump their trash overnight at the collection centers.  
 

 

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1 hour ago, denniS said:

 

Broken glass is among items people donate to Goodwill.

Along with simply being gross, these items cost Goodwill money.

"All this trash adds up to more than $1 million a year in a trash bill, and it's been growing every year for the past five years," says Steeves. And that's just for the 30 stores she oversees.

Goodwill does recycle lots of what it can't sell. The nonprofit reuses textiles and refurbishes some broken electronics. But last year, it threw away more than 13 million pounds of waste — technically other people's garbage — across its locations in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

It costs Goodwill to get rid of trash.  They should put up a sign to donors before opening door to Goodwill.

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i went through the local Goodwill store a few times with my sister who was looking to do what someone advised her:  find furniture with great frames, is falling apart otherwise, pay next to nothing for it and have it reupholstered.  She now has a fantastically furnished living room.

But there was other stuff where my first thought was, "What were they thinking when they put this garbage out for sale?"

Maybe they were just trying to avoid trash collection charges.

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My recent go to is the curb.  I set "treasures" out there and people come and get them.

Right now we have:

a set of rubber gardening boots

a curling iron

a large porcelain pitcher

a porcelain hand soap dispenser

 

Last week's items that just vanished:

two ugly framed posters

two camp chairs

a propane zodi shower

a funnel for white gas

 

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We moved my wife’s aunt out of one of her houses in town that she’s selling. She’s pretty handicapped and can’t really do much. There was 30 years of stuff in that house, much of it was junk. But a lot of the furniture was still in decent shape. We called the Rescue Mission and they came and took what they wanted. We then put the rest outside on the porch with a sign that said, “Free”.  Most of it was gone within a week. 

We scheduled a collection with the refuse company for everything that was being trashed. 

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3 hours ago, denniS said:

https://www.npr.org/2021/05/06/993821945/goodwill-doesnt-want-your-broken-toaster

Cars begin lining up outside the Goodwill donation center in Seabrook, N.H., around 10 a.m. most mornings.

Well-intended patrons are here with truckloads full of treasures.

"We hope everyone brings great things that help our programs, but we know some people make some questionable judgments about what is good to donate," explains Heather Steeves, spokesperson for the 30 Goodwill locations in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont.

She holds up "a lampshade, which is stained and disgusting and literally falling apart."

There's a small table missing a leg, cracked purple food-storage containers and a used sponge. They're just a representative sample of the useless stuff dropped off the day before.

Broken glass is among items people donate to Goodwill.

Along with simply being gross, these items cost Goodwill money.

"All this trash adds up to more than $1 million a year in a trash bill, and it's been growing every year for the past five years," says Steeves. And that's just for the 30 stores she oversees.

Goodwill does recycle lots of what it can't sell. The nonprofit reuses textiles and refurbishes some broken electronics. But last year, it threw away more than 13 million pounds of waste — technically other people's garbage — across its locations in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Free dump run.

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