Soiled underwear, mouldy food and used make-up are just some of the disgusting items that charity shop workers in Malta are forced to sift through every day.

“Yesterday we got a section of a cooker,” says Maxine Tonna the retail manager at MSPCA’s Sliema branch, who has been in charge of the shop for nine years.

“If we’re not here to monitor what is coming in, items just get thrown in the door and people run away. Then, we end up having to pay for skips which are full of rubbish.”

The worst offenders, she says, are people who are leaving the island and throw everything in bin bags and give it to the MSPCA to deal with.

“We find things like used make-up all stuck together or even worse. Then we have to spend time we don’t have, throwing most of it away,” Ms Tonna says.

Her counterpart at Inspire’s Marsascala branch, Nelly Vassallo, agrees. She and her team sort through more than 200 bags of items a day at this branch alone and at least half of it has to be taken to the dump in their van.

“It can be very overwhelming,” she says, standing in front of a table loaded with clothing waiting to be organised.

“We get a lot of torn or stained items, or even dirty underwear. And we also get rotten food, such as bread or pasta, which is not nice for us to have to go through.”

Luckily, they don’t have to pay to get rid of it but it takes a lot of their time to sort it out and dump it. But Inspire is one of the lucky ones. Other charities – such as Happy Paws near St Thomas Bay – have to pay for everything they get rid of.

“We get absolutely no help from government, whatsoever,” says Maike Beekman, founder and president.

The organisation recently had to erect an iron fence outside its shop in Marsascala to stop people from dumping their rubbish there.

“We’ve got fridges and other large household appliances we simply can’t sell on. We fill around three skips a week which we then have to pay for. Of course, we appreciate donations, but just because a person is buying in a charity shop, it doesn’t mean they don’t deserve good quality items.”

But it’s not all bad donations. “We get Versace sunglasses and handbags at our Sliema shop, which are fantastic and go really quickly,” continues Maxine.

One item donated earlier this year had everyone talking. They received a bowl which they knew was of good quality but were not able to verify its value online.

They priced it at €250 and it was quickly snapped up.

“But then, around six weeks after it was donated, a woman came into the shop and was distraught. She had donated the bowl by accident and it turned out it was worth around €2,000. She was upset but there was nothing we could do.”

Staff at Inspire also say they have found hidden treasure.

“We were once donated a couch by an elderly woman. We discovered €200 stuffed under one of the cushions. But, of course, we gave it back,” recalls Nelly.

As Christmas approaches, all three charities are urging people to think before giving donations.

“We are a vital lifeline for those on lower incomes,” says Maike.

“Many people are able to buy toys for their children, as well as winter coats, shoes and blankets, because of what we do.  While I’d like to think people also choose us because recycling items is better for the environment, I’m not sure many of our customers are thinking that way just yet.”