A hospice charity has issued a plea to the public after repeated incidents of fly-tipping outside its shops.
St Luke’s Hospice shops across Harrow and Brent have reported a daily problem of people leaving bags of clothing, furniture, and household items outside shop entrances, often overnight.
The charity, which relies on donations to fund care for people with terminal illnesses, says the items left outside are often unsellable and end up costing the hospice money to dispose of.
Sharon DeFreitas, retail operations manager at St Luke’s Hospice, said: "Many people think they’re leaving a donation.
"But the moment it’s left on the footpath, it stops being a donation and becomes rubbish.
"We can’t use it, we can’t sell it, and we have to pay to remove it.
"Every bag left outside drains resources that should be helping to fund hospice care."
The issue has become particularly severe at the charity’s Harrow Weald shop, where large quantities of items have been found strewn across the pavement.
Items left outside are often damaged by weather or contaminated by animals, and bags are sometimes ripped open, leaving the contents scattered.
Ms DeFreitas said: "If an item is left outside overnight, you don’t know what’s happened to it.
"Animals could have contaminated it, it could have been damaged by the weather, or people could have gone through the bags, taken what they want and left everything scattered across the footpath.
"It’s simply not safe, and we can’t use it."
She added that the problem takes staff and volunteers away from their main work.
"It’s a cost to us in terms of waste disposal, but it’s also a cost in staff and volunteer time," she said.
"Instead of serving customers, sorting donations and raising money for patients and families, they’re having to clear fly-tipping from outside our shops."
She urged donors to bring items during shop opening hours and hand them directly to staff.
Ms DeFreitas said: "We want your donations. We just need them to reach us safely so we can turn them into money for hospice care."
St Luke’s Hospice is also encouraging people to separate clean but unwearable clothing into bags marked "rag" as part of its "Bag your Rag" campaign to help shop teams identify items for textile recycling quickly.
Items such as furniture and large electrical items can be collected by the charity if arranged in advance.
Call 020 8909 2311 or email furnituresales@stlukes-hospice.org to organise a collection.
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