ST PAUL, Minnesota — During Minnesota's stay-at-home order, a lot of people are using this time to get some spring cleaning done.
Boxes are ready to go, but donation sites like Goodwill are closed because of COVID-19. That's not stopping some people from dumping their donations outside Goodwill stores in Minnesota.
"When you leave items outside, it isn't helpful, safe or valuable for any of us," said Nick Adams, senior director of retails stores for Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota.
Adams said donation dumping has been a problem since their sites closed on March 16.
"We have 51 stores; so that's a lot of stores. It's me and three others monitoring those locations. So it's a lot of time and expense," Adams said.
While stores are closed, Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota is still serving online about 2,000 participants in their job training program.
"Their donations are what make our job programs possible. So the money we make from donations go to our services and programs that help educate and train people and put people back to work," Adams explained.
But those donations do not help if they have been dumped outside.
"When you leave product outside, especially in Minnesota spring weather... isn't good for those items and it really doesn't allow us to recycle or reuse them or resell them. So it's not putting those donations to good use and helping our services and programs," Adams said.
Until places can accept donations again, Adams suggests storing them in the garage, basement or a spare room.
"We really appreciate the generosity of everyone in Minnesota and thinking of Goodwill. We absolutely want to accept those donations. We just ask that you please stay home, please stay safe," Adams said. "As soon as we reopen, we will love to accept those and put them to the best use as possible."
Currently, Goodwill is developing a comprehensive safety plan for when stores reopen.
According to Minneapolis Police, someone who gets caught dumping donations could receive a citation for illegal dumping or littering.
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