The City of Richmond has several areas with clothing donation bins, but lately, one area is collecting more than just clothes.
According to Richmond resident Kanwal Gill, people have been dumping household items including broken furniture, mattresses and even a broken toilet at the Big Brothers donation bins on No. 5 Road between Cambie and Thorpe roads.
“It’s an absolute eyesore and it’s annoying going there and seeing all the junk,” said Gill.
"(The bins) are not a garbage dump. There are restaurants and small businesses in the area and they’re just not being used for its purpose.”
Gill told the Richmond News that while the pile of garbage has been there “for more than a month” and suggested that a solution for the problem would be to remove the bins.
“As long as we keep these bins there, people will keep dumping stuff.”
She added that she and several community members have reached out to Big Brothers hoping they can provide a solution.
Big Brothers confirmed with the News that they are aware of the garbage disposal situation and are “coming up with solutions” to the problem.
“The area is of top priority to our clothing donation team,” said Mandy Wong, manager of development and marketing at Big Brothers.
She added that increased signage and having an attendant monitor the bins during the week are some of the ideas they have to prevent more garbage dumps at the bins.
Clothing donation bins, according to Wong, provides funding for mentorship programs for over 900 young people across Metro Vancouver every year, and removing the bins would impact the funding for the programs.
“Removal of the clothing donation bins means loss of funding for the organization which could lead to further negative impact – less programs being run for children and youth, not being able to maintain critical mentoring relationships in communities such as Richmond, and more,” said Wong.
Right now, she added, is a critical time for continued donation of clothing and “small household items” to Big Brothers and they ask for the public for the public’s support.
“We want to continue to serve the residents in Richmond in providing a space where they can donate, and maintain funding for the programs”
