Enniscorthy shoppers seeking bargains in charity bins – ‘I thought I was entering the doors of TK Maxx’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Shoppers in Enniscorthy are hunting for “handsome garments” in charity bins across the town. Having come across two individuals perusing the goods on offer at the bins, local councillor John O’Rourke said he momentarily thought he was “entering the doors of TK Maxx”.

“The bins aren’t being emptied by the charities,” he said at the July meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD). “I happened to be in the area recently, in the old Dunne’s Stores car park, and I thought I was entering the doors of TK Maxx; I thought I might pick up a bargain.

"There were two members of the public taking out the bags, and choosing what they thought were handsome garments for themselves to go out in. Then they put them into the suitcase and left the rest behind on the ground.”

While some areas of the town have discarded clothes strewn on the ground, others are being used to dump household rubbish.

“There’s a bin at the entrance to the Peace Park from Irish Street, and it has a sticker saying no household rubbish permitted,” said Cllr O’Rourke. “Yet every day, without fail, there’s a half-dozen black bags full of household rubbish left beside that bin. We shouldn’t be using our time and resources to pick up this rubbish, it’s unacceptable and shouldn’t be tolerated. It’s unsightly for those visiting the area, and you have cats and birds dragging at the bags making it look worse.”