Gleaners ask residents to stop dumping at site

January 19, 2022

Photo courtesy of Theresa Howard

Donated trash sits outside Sweet Home Gleaners' thrift store location on Main Street. The group is not equipped to repair damaged donations and it must pay costs of disposing of such items.

The Sweet Home Gleaners, Inc. relies on donations to run its thrift store. But its staff is unhappy with the near-daily dumping of unusable items in its parking lot after business hours, volunteer Theresa Howard said.

"We have to put it in the Dumpster or haul it to the dump ourselves, which is expensive," she said.

This isn't a new problem for the Main Street nonprofit. According to Howard, it's been happening throughout the four years of her involvement. And the rate of this activity over that period has "remained about the same."

Some of these items include old beds, furniture, stoves, a...

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