A center that collects items for Ukrainian evacuees asked donors not to send other unusable goods.
Centers collecting aid for Ukrainian refugees have clamped down on contributions from the public after volunteers were shocked by unusable and impractical donations ranging from soiled duvets to Nespresso coffee pods.
Volunteers have asked people to stop dumping rubbish items at the center, they also said that practical things like warm clothes, bandages, sleeping bags, flashlights, and first aid kits are all needed.
Volunteers at the Polish White Eagle Club in Balham, London, sorted through hundreds of bags after a request for help on Friday and they are grateful for people’s generous donations but have asked donors to stop dumping rubbish at centers.
Magda Harvey, one of the volunteers, told ITV News London that they had also been given junk after some people appeared to have “cleared out their garage.point 252 |
” She said: “Some people have done a wonderful job and brought what we asked for, everything brand new, really nice but some people brought old stuff which is really humiliating and I won’t send it anywhere.point 185 | ”point 192 | 1
Some donations sent to a sorting hub have either been recycled or sent to landfills. Some items like used bedding and clothing were said to be unusable. Council officials said it appears some people have used the effort to help Ukraine to get rid of old items.
Other centers reported that they cleared out 4.5 tons of unusable donations with much of it being taken for recycling. Waste Service already stepped in and starts to help at Castlepoint’s, after requests from local councilors.
Callum Anderson, who set up a donation center in Athy Co Kildare in Ireland, said he was mainly aiming to send over warm clothes, bandages, first aid kits, sleeping bags, medication, and flashlights. So far two lorries have been packed and sent to Poland.
Anderson said: “I had to stop donations because it was starting to go that way — that people were treating it as a clear-out. We had a lady contact us to say she had some high-end clothes and high-end accessories. And I was just thinking someone running from war in Ukraine doesn’t need a Gucci handbag.”
On another center being run by Agatha Laszcynska in Drogheda, Co Louth, clothes poured in but many proved to be impractical due to the weather conditions in Ukraine. She said: “Clothes that didn’t suit the weather maybe some people don’t realize how cold it is there – stayed here.”
“What we wanted the most was men’s shoes for the army for Ukrainian fighters because many don’t have good enough shoes.point 227 |
We got a few high heels that no woman would wear in normal circumstances; you can’t walk in them.point 85 | We got coffee pods for the fancy Nespresso machines, that’s the weirdest thing we got.point 159 | And we got two boxes of Red Bull,” she added.point 197 | 1
According to Kasia Kuty, a center in Lucan receives three big piles of rubbish including “one particularly dirty duvet which was covered in stains as well as food that has expired and a few broken buggies.”
Kuty has been able to send off two shipments to Poland. She said: “Towels and warm blankets are also important. There is no problem with getting clothes: they have enough. They need toiletries, baby food, nappies, and wipes.”
The Irish Red Cross has emphasized the best way to help is with cash, as sending goods adds to the strain on the transport system. An aid worker on the Ukraine-Romania border has also urged people to support Ukrainian refugees with cash donations rather than material items.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also recently visited the Ukrainian Culture Center in London to learn about the extraordinary efforts being made to support Ukrainians. According to the UN refugee agency, over 3.8 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the invasion began, more than half going to Poland.