Since being founded in 2009, CommunityAid has given back more than $25 million to local human service, religious, and first responder nonprofit organizations.
We can – and want to – have even more of an impact; however, we need you to help us with one major hurdle that’s standing in our way: dumping.
What is dumping?
At CommunityAid, we define dumping as the act of leaving anything outside of a bin or store; this includes clothing, shoes, mattresses, household items, and more. Items* should only be left at a bin if there is room to safely place them in the bin. If there is no room, every thrift store has a Donation Center that accepts in-person drop offs.
*We strongly encourage only clothing and shoes to be left in bins to avoid damage and for safety reasons.
The Impact of Dumping
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COST
In 2020, CommunityAid spent $260,000 on trash removal from bins. When donations are left outside of bins - regardless of their initial condition - they must be disposed of due to the high risk of contamination from weather, animals, or other external elements.
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ENVIRONMENT
Our 2020 garbage collection translated to an estimated 500,000 pounds of donations taken to the landfill. This is equal to approximately 18 full dump trucks.
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COMMUNITY
Every dollar spent on trash removal is a dollar taken away from a local nonprofit partner. CommunityAid supports more than 500 local nonprofits through donations and sales. Our trash removal costs represent 47% of what we gave back in 2020.
What is CommunityAid doing to address this issue?
It’s our hope that this campaign will raise more attention and awareness to the pain that has been caused by this ongoing issue. We’re engaging a variety of channels to make sure the word is spread as broadly and effectively as possible.
Operations
In the summer of 2021, CommunityAid’s logistics team restructured its operations to efficiently redesign bin servicing routes so that bins are serviced at least weekly and sometimes more at more popular locations. Nonprofit bin partners are requested to help maintain overflow by storing items inside of their premises until the next service day is complete.
Press
CommunityAid has a supportive network of media vendors across the Central PA region. We’ve engaged this group of supporters to help us spread the word through their radio, print, television, and digital channels.
