Charity store volunteers left overwhelmed as high volumes of donations get dumped outside shops

Tamworth's Salvation Army shopfront has resembled a rubbish dump the past few weeks with piles of bags, furniture and electronics left to sort through.

Corps Officer for Tamworth's Salvation Army major Tony DeTommaso said while the charity group was always thankful for the community support there is a fine line between donating and dumping.

"There's a lot of things that should have gone into recycling somewhere else or in the rubbish," he said.

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"The community needs to be responsible for where used items go."

Around $24,000 is spent by the local Salvation Army group each year to send un-sellable donations to the rubbish tip.

Mr DeTommaso said this money could be better used to provide help and support for people in the community.

While the store hosts volunteers who are passionate to help out, Mr DeTommaso said the volume of donations being left at the store left them feeling overwhelmed and "a little bit down".

Despite a sign asking people not to leave donations while the shop is closed Mr DeTommaso said he had to come in multiple times over the festive period to deal with the growing piles.

The stores sorting warehouse is also packed to the brim with volunteers forced to convert their function room into a storage facility to house the donations.

To avoid overwhelming volunteers Mr DeTommaso said there were some simple things people should consider before dropping off an item.

"If you're sitting on something that has a rip and a stain on it we're not going to be able to give it to someone else," he said.

"Ask your neighbour or your friend 'would you take this?'."

Mr DeTommaso advised people should hold off to donate their pre-loved goods until the shop so they could check with volunteers that their second hand items were suitable.

"If you're not sure people ring up and describe to us what they've got and we'll let them know if we can use it or not."

Calling out for more manpower Mr DeTommaso said they were always looking for volunteers to help with sorting, selling and managing donations.

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