News
Dumped household rubbish putting volunteers at risk
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EXCLUSIVE
By Sean Moriarty
Cross contamination of the COVID-19 virus has become a huge concern for one local charity - after household rubbish was dumped in front of charity clothes bins this week.
The Kerry Hospice has criticised the actions of those responsible at the Beech Road facilities - which was stuffed to capacity with household rubbish and other waste - rendering the donated clothing useless for recycling or resale in charity shops.
The hospice operates over 20 collection points across the county and the recycled clothes are worth in the region of €10,000 a year to the cancer charity.
Joe Hennebery, Chairman of the Kerry Hospice, said the actions of these people will cost the charity money and will put his volunteer members at risk as they will have to manually sort through the materials in the bins at the time when people are being advised not make direct contact with surfaces where at all possible.
“It is a big loss to the hospice,” he told the Killarney Advertiser. “People don’t think about what they are doing. The clothes are of no more use to us. Someone will have to go and empty that bin now and that puts this person at unnecessary risk.”