A misunderstanding is causing a community to question where their donations go after noticing a bin full of books outside a local thrift shop.

A photo of a bin filled with books at Kildonan MCC Thrift Shop was posted by a community member on Saturday claiming they were being "tossed" but the store's chief operating officer Robin Searle says that is not the case.

"We receive tens of thousands of books on a regular basis."

Many of those who commented on the post say they would have liked to see the books be donated instead of thrown out, but  Searle says that is what they currently are doing.

Searle wants donors to feel welcome to come and talk to her in person if they have questions about the donation process before posting on social media. She says she has attempted to reach out to people in the comments to explain the purpose of the bin but has not had luck connecting with the original poster. The comment section on the post has since been closed after receiving over 450 responses.

screenshot of post

"I reached out to a number of individuals who were on the Facebook post," Searle adds. Searle says she expected the poster to reach out based on what they had written but she has not heard back from them.

The store says they have several ways they dispose of unsellable books. They donate "boxes and boxes" of books to various organizations across the city such as to corrections facilities and the Children's Hospital, or they recycle them to a place that turns the used books into glue.

"We actually have a very rigorous procedure with our books," Searle says. "When people drop them off here, we send them to a recycling depot so they do not end up in a landfill." 

When browsing your library for donations, MCC Thrift Shop suggests evaluating the books for damage. They are unable to sell books that have been in smoking homes but are often able to donate them to Winnipeg organizations.

Cookbooks, textbooks, and encyclopedias are all examples of books the thrift store has difficulty selling and will often need to donate or recycle. If someone has books that they are unable to donate, the thrift shop allows people to use its recycle bin for themselves.

"We receive tens of thousands of books on a regular basis and we have to make some decisions in terms of what books we keep," she adds. "Our recycling bin is there do they don't end up in the landfill."

Searle says they are always looking for fiction and children's books to be donated to their store, as those are their most popular sellers.