Essex and Herts charity billed around '£1,000 a week' to unload dumped waste
Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Elodie Harper
Essex & Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT) says it's costing them around £1,000 a week to dispose of household rubbish left at its collection warehouse.
The building, on Gunnels Wood Road in Stevenage, stores goods which are sold through the charity’s nine shops across Essex and Hertfordshire.
Since the warehouse reopened on June 29, staff have reported that many bags and boxes of donations have turned out to be household rubbish.
Donna Lee, the charity’s Head of Retail, said: “As well as staff facing the disgusting and time-consuming job of sorting through other people’s domestic waste, it’s currently costing us in the region of £1,000 a week to dispose of it using industrial skips.
"That is money that should be helping to keep our lifesaving service operational."
Ms Lee added that one box she opened was full of old birthday and Christmas cards.
"Someone had even gone to the trouble of cutting out the names so that we couldn’t see who they were from", she said.
"Inside the box, there were used tissues, empty bottles of aftershave, a mouldy deodorant stick, empty bottles and petrol receipts".
EHAAT asks that donors put their items in clear plastic bags or open bags so their contents can be seen.
The Stevenage collection warehouse is currently open on Monday and Thursday to receive donations.
On July 11, the charity’s shop in Hitchin was the first to reopen, followed by Royston on July 18 and Buntingford on the 25th.