PALMERTON -- A church in Carbon County is having problems with its donation shed. People have been dumping trash instead of clothing
At the dead end of Columbus Avenue in Palmerton sits a donation shed meant for clothing, blankets and other cloth materials -- not donut makers, coffee cups and other trash items.
But that's exactly what has been piling up there in this part of Carbon County over the last few days.
"Last week we had a microwave oven, a broken down computer, a bed frame is in here, and we haven't gotten that out yet because there are so many bags on top of it," said church committee member Linda Aulenbach.
Aulenbach, a member of St. John's United Church of Christ, is one of the people who oversee the shed. Lately she and her husband have had to go through the piles and dig out the trash before the donations are picked up.
"It's very frustrating because this was cleaned up yesterday and it was cleaned up last week and here we are again."
The trash problem started this year. People at the church noticed a lot of the items look like they were being sold a yard sale. Price tags are still on some items.
Deanna Iles lives across the street from the shed. She and her son have noticed an increase in the amount of trash being dumped and can't believe people would take advantage of the donation spot.
"It really stinks because there are not many places here in Palmerton where you can do a drop off like that and this is just easy access," Iles said.
"A lot of people rely on that a lot of times and they just really need that stuff and it's terrible people are dumping their garbage and leaving it there," added John Iles.
Police in Palmerton have been notified about the dumping.
Residents and churchgoers hope to see the problem fixed soon.
