Revelstoke Hospital Auxiliary Society (RHAS) thrift store and Bargain Basement thrift store volunteers and staff are urging donors to pause and assess items before dropping them off. The call comes after a spring cleaning rush of donations to both locations included numerous items that cannot be sold.
“We spend close to $20,000 a year on dumpster fees,” Cathy Thacker, RHAS president told Revelstoke Mountaineer. “It comes three times a week but we can fill it up in a day no problem.”
While the Bargain Basement notes they’re a smaller operation compared to the RHAS thrift store, they’re still spending a fair penny discarding items that can’t be sold.
“It’s $400 a month for our garbage fees,” Wilma Mollerud, Bargain Basement volunteer said.
From ripped clothes to broken toys, soiled linens to cookware with last meals still burnt on, both locations said they’ve seen it all.
“I really think for some people they don’t want to deal with the dump,” Thacker said, noting that some volunteers have opened the RHAS thrift store only to find large garbage bags of actual waste dropped at the donation door. Other times it’s items with good intention but no place for either thrift shop to store.
“We have no space for big furniture, it stays outside if the weather is good and we hope it sells. But this is Revelstoke. You can’t leave a bedframe outside if it’s raining or snowing,” Thacker shared.
Dealing with items that can’t be sold requires hours from all volunteers, from those who initially sort donations to those taking scrap metal, broken electronics and overall trash to waste stations.
Not only are volunteer hours wasted trashing items instead of updating the stores and helping customers, it’s money not going to the organizations both thrift stores support. Along with supporting the Revelstoke Legion with furnace updates and other maintenance projects, the Bargain Basement has also donated to organizations such as Open Mountains, Revelstoke Unstuck, School District 19’s breakfast program and more.
RHAS has donated to Revelstoke Search & Rescue, the new echocardiogram ultrasound machine at the Queen Victoria Hospital and various medical resources for residents in town.
It makes the rising costs of waste removal that much harder to swallow.
“That’s money that could be going to the community, that should be going to the community to help out,” Renee Howe, Bargain Basement volunteer said.
Both Howe and Thacker hope increasing awareness around what should and shouldn’t be donated helps put money earmarked for trash removal back into the community.
“Some people it might not take, but I think some people just don’t know that we don’t have the resources to mend everything that comes in, clean the toys that have been out under the snow all winter, wash every piece of clothing that comes in,” Thacker said.
Both encourage folks to explore other reusing and reselling options in town, whether bringing items for mending to Revy ReFest, selling larger furniture items on marketplace, organizing mom share groups and more.
“You see the worst, but you also see the best of this town,” Mollerud said, noting that many times, the store sees brand new items in the donation bins, some even with tags still on.
“It’s something about this town, people want to help out and want to give when they can,” Howe added. “It’s why we’re so very supported in donations, it just needs to spread out a bit more.”
Some helpful things to keep in mind before donating
- Would you pay money for the item in its current condition?
- Has it been washed/cleaned before being donated?
- There are no missing pieces, rips, or broken features.
- The item is safe for the next person to use.
- It will soon be in season (don’t donate Christmas items in June)
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