air ambulance clothes recycling

mumto2loves

This may be just a rant and maybe a warning.

I was told today that the man in a van who goes round emptying the big yellow metal bins for clothes (the ones that are normally in car parks next to the bottle banks) gets paid £85 for each bin load he collects. (hhmm seems like quite a lot for a charity to pay out imo)
But he said he is allowed to sort through the clothes and take what he wants. His wife sells anything decent on ebay. They also take anything that they themselves or their children can use and wear. (He was laughing that he hasn't spent a penny on clothes yet for his 8 month old baby)

I'm shocked at this. I have put bags and bags of clothes in there thinking it was going to be sold and the money given to the air ambulance charity.

Am I totally naïve? Is this general knowledge??

spacey2012

They are taken to a warehouse where they are sorted, the best stuff gets sold to traders and the rest is weighed as rags, if you have information those contracted to collect are stealing donations, call the charity direct.

mumto2loves

spacey2012 wrote: »

They are taken to a warehouse where they are sorted, the best stuff gets sold to traders and the rest is weighed as rags, if you have information those contracted to collect are stealing donations, call the charity direct.

The person I was talking to seemed very sure that he was allowed to have what he wanted before he dropped the rest off. He's self employed and is paid per lift (even though he doesn't actually lift it as such just puts it by hand into the back of his van) if that makes any difference.

earthstorm

the clothe bins in our town are from salvation army and even the collectors dont have access to the bins.
they turn up with a wagon fitted with a hi-ab, they lift the bin up and drops off an empty bin

hollydays

mumto2loves wrote: »

This may be just a rant and maybe a warning.

I was told today that the man in a van who goes round emptying the big yellow metal bins for clothes (the ones that are normally in car parks next to the bottle banks) gets paid £85 for each bin load he collects. (hhmm seems like quite a lot for a charity to pay out imo)
But he said he is allowed to sort through the clothes and take what he wants. His wife sells anything decent on ebay. They also take anything that they themselves or their children can use and wear. (He was laughing that he hasn't spent a penny on clothes yet for his 8 month old baby)

I'm shocked at this. I have put bags and bags of clothes in there thinking it was going to be sold and the money given to the air ambulance charity.

Am I totally naïve? Is this general knowledge??

Most of these collections do get taken to a processing plant.they are technically "offered to the shop" but that's just a clever way of avoiding explaining what really happens to the stock-the shops too busy dealing with all the stuff the public bring in.
I believe respectable charities don't use this. Shocking. Yes. I get their bags through my door.i give to charities who don't use this type of collection. I think a lot of people DO think their stuff gets taken into the shops, but it's not true.

hollydays

spacey2012 wrote: »

They are taken to a warehouse where they are sorted, the best stuff gets sold to traders and the rest is weighed as rags, if you have information those contracted to collect are stealing donations, call the charity direct.

I know you should, but charities don't like a fuss and their" good" name tarnished.theyll sweep it under the carpet.

ThumbRemote

hollydays wrote: »

I know you should, but charities don't like a fuss and their" good" name tarnished.theyll sweep it under the carpet.

How do you know they will do this? Sounds like you are assuming the worst based on little or no evidence.

hollydays

Let me rephrase-they should report it, but charities aren't monitored like businesses are

hollydays

ThumbRemote wrote: »

How do you know they will do this? Sounds like you are assuming the worst based on little or no evidence.

Sounds like your making an assumption based on little or no evidence.

spacey2012

It is more shocking our Air Ambulances have to rely on charity.
They take a 4 million pound + helicopter, a volunteer unpaid basics doctor, usually an ex Navy pilot working for a tiny fraction of a pilots wage , a paramedic and a technician in to incidents where people are slipping from life, the Tub is kitted out state of the art emergency room equipment.
Once one lands, your chances of survival have increased 50% in serious trauma cases.
To think they rely on people's old clothes to do this is criminal.

hollydays

Government gives them nothing .