When the Albert Lea Salvation Army Thrift Store closes its doors Saturday afternoons for the weekend, it’s not a rare occurrence to find people still dropping off items at the back door of the store.

Some people drop things off with good intentions of helping others in need, but others do so with lesser intentions, said Salvation Army Capt. Jim Brickson.

This past weekend someone left actual garbage at the drop-off door, and in the past others have left soiled couches and tires, among other things.

He said while the organization is appreciative of the generosity of the people who leave things with good intentions, he wants people to know what happens when people intentionally leave items that are soiled or trashed.

In those cases, the Salvation Army has to spend money to get rid of the items, when it could instead be using that money to help others, he said.

“Though there are those who are being generous and trying to help us, there are those who think the Salvation Army is a dumping ground,” he said.

And it costs more money than people might think to dispose of trashed items.

For example, it costs $25 to get rid of a soiled couch. So that means if there were three soiled couches left in one weekend, it would cost $75 to get rid of them all.

“If you can’t use it, we can’t use it,” Capt. Lee Brickson said.

Jim Brickson said he also wants people to know that when people drop things off over the weekend, the organization’s employees aren’t able to bring them in until Monday. That means that good items sometimes end up covered with dew or being rained on, and then they aren’t able to be sold.

A sign at the back door of the thrift store states hours for donations run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

Jim Brickson said recently, the local Salvation Army store has also had problems with people rummaging through the trash behind the store, and one woman was even caught on the store’s security camera urinating in the back.

Though the organization has always had a security system, it recently upgraded because items were reported missing from the inside, Brickson said. Now there are several cameras both inside and outside of the store.

While the system hasn’t been able to catch anything happening on the inside of the store, it has noted plenty of activity in the back.

The Bricksons said they hope this will lessen.

Lee Brickson wanted to emphasize how grateful she is for the community support the Salvation Army receives. Because of that support, the organization is able to support its ministry and other social service programs.

Salvation Army inventory rotates out in less than 90 days. Once it is on the sales floor, it gets rotated out every four weeks, the Bricksons said.