MONTOURSVILLE, Pa. — Shane Jordan, an employee with the American Rescue Workers, stopped by the organization's thrift store in Montoursville to pick up donations in the blue bins.
What he found was a cluttered mess.
Clothes, junk, and much more were scattered everywhere.
"A lot of stuff sitting outside. The biggest thing is when it sits outside, it gets ruined," Jordan said.
After excessive rainfall in central Pennsylvania over the last week, all the items outside the blue bins were ruined, and workers needed to throw everything away.
"Last week alone, we had about 30,000 pounds of stuff that we took to the landfill," Jordan added.
"About $1,200 in landfill costs just for the items left outside our clothing donation bins," said Valerie Fessler with the organization.
That isn't the organization's only issue. The American Rescue Workers tell Newswatch 16 that these bins are just for clothes, but people are dumping junk like old mattresses.
"So, the items that we are collecting need to be sold in our thrift store, that is how we generate revenue to operate our homeless shelter and run our other programs. If an item can't be sold in our thrift store, then it is not usable for us," Fessler stated.
If your normal donation bins are full, there is no need to worry. The organization has plenty of bins scattered around Williamsport and central Pennsylvania. There are also a few other options.
"You can simply call our main number that is on our website, and we will come to your house and pick your donation up, you don't even have to be home. You can also take your donation to one of our main donation centers in Williamsport or in Sunbury," Fessler explained.
You can access a map to find all the blue bin donation locations here.
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