The manager of St Mary’s Opportunity Shop in Mount Maunganui admits she’s been reduced to tears over the rubbish dumped there.

“I love what I do and the people I work with, but to spend the first hour of my day removing what’s obviously just trash is so frustrating,” said Lana Pearson.

Household refuse – including private mail and photographs – has been strewn outside the building and along the fence line. The op shop’s commercial bins have been broken into for household rubbish to be left inside. On one occasion, human waste was left at the front door.

“The dumping happens a lot and I have been in contact with the police about it,” said Pearson. The most recent incident happened on April 7, when staff arrived to find a large amount of waste left outside the op shop.

“We’re trying hard to run a small community op shop and to keep prices as low as possible, but sometimes we’ve had to hire a skip or cleaners and that just means less money goes to the community.”

Any profits from the thrift store go to St Mary’s and St Peter’s churches, said Reverend Sue Genner.

“We’ve been renovating the preschool that’s on-site as it had faulty piling.

“The Anglican Parish of Mount Maunganui seeks to serve its community, and many of the volunteers in the op shop are our parishioners, so this is very disheartening to them.

“As St Mary’s church, the op shop, and the preschool all share the same carpark, this impacts us all.

“It is deeply disappointing to see this dumping occur and to have to wear the additional costs of that impacting our ability to offer some relief to those who are struggling in these difficult times.”

The shop staff are grateful for the support they’ve received, but say the actions of some only make their job harder.

“People are leaving rubbish we can’t use – like clothing that stinks or has stains and household goods that are damaged,” said Pearson. “Op shopping is my life; I call it treasure hunting. I love this job, but the dumping is just heartbreaking.”