From mouldy books to dirty boots, charities are spending large sums on binning unsellable items.

Jane Ward with some of the items her shop cannot sell

Published24 September 2026

Jane Ward is turning the blackened, mouldy pages of a Mr Men book. "You wouldn't want your child curled up in bed with this," she says

We are at a charity shop run by St Barnabas Hospice in Lincoln. On the table in front of us is a fleece work jacket, covered in dog hair, along with a large, stained teddy bear and a single, dirty, grey slipper

"If we had the pair, it still wouldn't be wearable," Ward, the store's deputy manager, tells me. "Even our rag companies wouldn't be able to accept that."

Broken, dirty and downright grotty donations are costing hospice charities tens of thousands of pounds to dispose of

St Barnabas and Dove House Hospice, in Hull, spent a combined £70,000 on dealing with unwanted waste last year

While St Barnabas says the quality of donations can be "phenomenal", staff are calling on people to be more mindful of items the charity will not be able to sell and which instead become a cost

Its flagship shop, called The Warehouse, is a large unit on an industrial estate with a retail space out front, selling furniture, electrical goods, homeware and toys, as well as racks of clothing and shoes