I do not understand why civic minded residents or businesses should have to pay a waste disposal fee for disposing of someone else’s rubbish that has been left in a public place.

I understand that the person who dumped material in front of the Salvation Army Family Store in Taree (Manning River Times front page report 29 March) might have had a good intention of “donating” it, but that intention and their ensuing clumsy action should not be a liability or responsibility attached to the Salvation Army store.

It would be different if the store had a sign out the front saying “please leave materials for donation on the footpath if the store is closed”, but that is not the case here.

If someone anonymously dumped an old bomb car on the footpath in front of a used car dealership, would the dealership have to pay to dispose of it?

What if someone left a cast of unwanted marionettes on the footpath in front of the local council offices in Forster – would the civic minded council administrator or his local representation committee members have to pay a fee to dispose of them?

When innocent, civic minded people dispose of rubbish left in public places they should not have to pay the waste disposal fees and good local council policy should back common sense about this.

Of course, the marionettes should not be disposed of at all but, rather, installed in a local museum about the state of local government in 2016/2017.