South Shropshire enterprise appeals for fencing donations to stop people dumping rubbish on their site
A social enterprise in South Shropshire is calling for help to put up fencing in a bid to stop rubbish being dumped on its doorstep.
The Furniture Scheme, in Ludlow, restores and resells unwanted furniture and is always grateful for donations - but representatives said there has been an increase in unusable items being dumped at its base rather than being taken to the tip.
James Cooper, Operations Manager at The Furniture Scheme, said the problem had become so bad they were now having to look at ways of preventing rubbish being dumped.
“We highlighted this problem some months ago and the situation has improved a little but our volunteers are still having to literally dispose of so much rubbish,” he said.
“The Furniture Scheme thrives on donations and the goodwill of all those people who are willing to donate items to us which we can then bring back into service and be of great benefit to those in our community most in need.
“But we are finding that more and more people are simply using us as a substitute tip for items that are clearly not going to be of any use to anyone. It just means we are wasting our valuable resources in having to ferry the rubbish to the tip in Craven Arms.
“The last thing we want to do is put off those people with a genuine desire and suitable items to donate but clearly we are going to have to take action.
“With this in mind we have decided we need to fence off our yard at the back of our warehouse in Weeping Cross Lane. As a charity we can not afford to do this ourselves so we would love to hear from anyone who may be able to help us.
“We are looking for some substantial fencing which would prevent access to our yard and a secured gating system of some kind - we are open to suggestions.”
The social enterprise reported in June that people were dumping trailer and van loads of household items that could not be recycled, repaired or reused outside of normal hours or when staff were dealing with customers.
The Furniture Scheme has been running in Ludlow for more than 20 years and benefits some of the most excluded members of the community.
Anyone who can help is being asked to telephone the charity on 01584 874922 or email info@furniturescheme.co.uk
