Australia’s leading charities are bracing for an avalanche of useless household goods to be dumped outside their stores by people unwilling to pay higher rubbish tip fees as a result of carbon tax
The Salvation Army has told the Herald Sun that the tax will add $3.5 million to annual landfill costs for charitable groups.
It warns the new tax will encourage struggling families to use the charity shops as a dumping ground for their unsaleable furniture and clothing rather than pay the cost of rubbish tips.
The Salvos say this could impact on the services they provide to about 300,000 people a year which includes emergency accommodation and drug and alcohol counselling.
The paper says that about 25 per cent of goods collected by the Salvos, St Vincent de Paul and other charity groups are dumped.
The Salvos estimate they will pay an extra $687,000 to $1.25 million in landfill fees after July 1 when the tax is introduced.