From soiled nappies and dirty underwear to household rubbish and broken electrical items, a charity that helps those in need has revealed the eye-watering cost of poor quality donations being left by the WA public.

Across its 52 retail shops in Western Australia, Vinnies has reported a sizeable decline in the amount of quality and sellable items being donated, with a vast amount of them having to be diverted to the landfill.

Vinnies WA acting Director of Social Enterprise Joanne Fitzpatrick told The West Australian the charity’s donation bins were frequently being used to dump household waste.

“We have certainly noticed a decline in quality usable donations, particularly those being put in our 30 or so community bins located across WA,” Ms Fitzpatrick said.

“Unfortunately, the bins are increasingly being used to dispose of household rubbish and unusable items, rather than quality donations that can be resold to support our charitable work.”

Shockingly, among the items being left for volunteers to sort through are soiled nappies and underwear.

“These poor quality items being donated range from household rubbish, soiled nappies, worn socks and underwear and damaged or broken items, including electrical goods which we cannot sell at our shops,” Ms Fitzpatrick continued.

“These items not only take up room in our shop’s donation bins, but it also becomes the responsibility of Vinnies WA to dispose of them.”

Like all households in WA the charity has to pay to take rubbish to landfill, meaning more often than not they are left to shoulder the the cost.

Ms Fitzpatrick continued: “The unsellable, poor quality items are taken to landfill by our logistics team, with the disposal costs being absorbed by us”

“While it is difficult to put an exact figure on the cost of disposing of unsaleable donated items, it costs Vinnies WA hundreds of thousands of dollars each year — money that could otherwise go towards supporting West Australians experiencing hardship. “

On top of the growing issue, the charity also said it was being targeted by “people removing items, leaving donations scattered and exposed to the weather, creating additional clean-up and safety issues for our staff and volunteers.”

Despite the setbacks, the charity says its Distribution Centre in Canning Vale has been been able to save more than 4 million items from going to WA’s landfill in the 2024/25 financial year.

But with the increase of rubbish being left at its doors, the charity is renewing its plea to the public to ensure they are mindful of what they chose to donate.

Ann Curran, Vinnies WA CEO told The West: “We’re incredibly grateful to West Australians who generously donate to Vinnies.

“We simply ask people to donate thoughtfully by choosing clean, good-quality items that others can reuse and enjoy.

“If you wouldn’t give it to a mate, don’t donate.’”