The urge to clean up that sparked many people during the corona crisis is noticeable not only at the rubbish recycling centre but also in the thrift stores.
One of these, Het Goed, at De Hurk industrial estate’s hardly able to process the vast quantities of household goods. There is barely enough room in this thrift shop’s warehouse for all the stuff. They have received crates full of electronics, clothing, books, toys, and kitchen and other household goods.
These are delivered daily by dozens of cars at the same time. Het Goed could start a complete library with all the books they got. They, therefore, had no choice but to throw a lot of them away.
Temporary staff shortage
This last resort shows how busy Het Goed is. Throwing away useful things is not something a recycling business does readily. A temporary shortage of personnel exacerbates the hustle and bustle. “We have a lot of people who are on reintegration course that work here”, regional manager, Eric Alberts, explains. “Quite a few of them are at home now, because they belong to the risk group”.
So, more work to be done has to be done by fewer people. Then, of course, things sometimes grind to a halt. Fortunately, shop sales have picked up a bit in recent weeks. Alberts says, “That helps clear some space in the warehouse as well”.
And indeed, the shop is well-visited again. At the checkout point, a small queue’s forming. “And that, for a Tuesday afternoon. Definitely not a rush hour”, Alberts says proudly.
Rubbish dumped at thrift shop
As a result of the corona crisis, Het Goed also had less good-hearted visitors. “Because of the traffic jams at the rubbish recycling centre, some people brought their rubbish here”, the regional manager says. “Sometimes, under something that can be reused.”
“We’d only discover that when the people had long since left. But if we find it sooner, we kindly ask them to take their rubbish back with them. We’re not a waste processor”.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
