Employees at Ergon Thrift in Riverview, New Brunswick, were met with an unpleasant surprise on Tuesday morning when they arrived at work to find piles of clothes scattered across the parking lot. Thieves had ransacked three donation bins, emptying them completely. Cory Thibodeau, executive director of Ergon Inc., lamented the incident, stating that the cleanup and washing process would take hours, potentially compromising the salability of the donations. The social enterprise provides programming and training to assist employees living with mental illness, and this theft has hindered their efforts. Thibodeau expressed concern that the bins had been targeted before and that they had incurred substantial expenses replacing damaged locks. His organization is considering investing roughly $1,000 in security cameras for the bins, a significant financial burden. “Every dollar spent on security is a dollar that cannot be allocated to supporting our employees,” he said. Additionally, Ergon staff have encountered individuals attempting to steal from the bins, raising safety concerns. Thibodeau shared an incident where an employee discovered someone sleeping inside a bin while emptying it. Dayzee’s Fashion, another thrift store in Riverview, has faced similar challenges with theft and vandalism. They have reduced their number of bins in the community from 18 to just one due to the frequent incidents. Candace Walsh, manager of Dayzee’s Fashions, said that property owners had requested the removal of their bins due to the constant mess and damage. Furthermore, they were spending approximately $300 per week replacing destroyed locks. The IWK Children’s Hospital Foundation, which has clothing donation bins in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as part of its fundraising efforts, has also been affected by theft and vandalism. Chad Millner, Operations Manager at LML Trading and responsible for managing the bins, reported that property owners had asked them to remove the bins due to these issues. In Moncton alone, they have lost 30 to 35 bin locations within the past year. Millner attributed this to frequent theft of donations and property owners’ requests for removal. The cost of each bin has escalated significantly due to the necessity for enhanced security measures. Millner emphasized the need for public cooperation in reporting any instances of broken-into donation bins to the police. Local authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Donation Bin Theft and Vandalism Plagues Local Thrift Stores
