Photos of a mound of items outside the Toukley Community Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales sparked outrage when they were shared online on Tuesday to a local community group

Furious locals have slammed a massive pile of ‘waste’ left outside a charity, including unopened packs of nappies – but the real explanation for the large dumping has been revealed. 

Photos of a council clean-up outside the Toukley Community Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales were shared online on Tuesday to a Central Coast community group.

The photos show a confronting scene of piles of cardboard boxes – including one full of unopened nappies – along with new sanitary items, furniture, plastic tubs and kids’ toys outside the centre on Header Street.

Another picture shows a council garbage truck and two men arriving at the scene to collect the mound of various items stacked against a wall of the community centre.  

Photos of a mound of items outside the Toukley Community Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales sparked outrage when they were shared online on Tuesday to a local community group

Photos of a mound of items outside the Toukley Community Centre on the Central Coast of New South Wales sparked outrage when they were shared online on Tuesday to a local community group 

A photo was shared to the Facebook group of a council garbage truck and two men arriving at the scene to collect the goods and rubbish piled up outside the community centre

A photo was shared to the Facebook group of a council garbage truck and two men arriving at the scene to collect the goods and rubbish piled up outside the community centre

‘Is this how community donations are handled?’ the post read.

‘The amount of families that could be helped with these items hurts my heart. What an absolute waste. I feel ashamed to be human.’

Locals reacted to the post with anger and disgust at what they perceived was a gross mishandling of community donations.

‘What a waste,’ read one comment, while another blasted the scene as ‘criminal’. 

Another blamed the site on a ‘bureaucratic goose’ from the ‘uncaring so called acting Council we are stuck with’.

But a heated debate followed as other locals took to the comments on the post to explain the true heartbreaking reason for the dump.  

‘The building was shut down after floods earlier this year due to mould throughout the whole place,’ one pointed out.

‘Everything is riddled with mould. They legally can’t give it out.’

‘All that had to be tossed,’ another said. 

‘Building as well as all goods. Covered in black mould. If you are from Toukley you would know. The neighborhood centre had to relocate.’

The mould issue was confirmed by the Toukley Community Centre itself on Wednesday.

A heated debate broke out on social media between angry locals and others who sought to  explain the true heart-breaking reason behind the rubbish dump

A heated debate broke out on social media between angry locals and others who sought to  explain the true heart-breaking reason behind the rubbish dump

Bronwyn Barnes, Executive Officer at Toukley Community Centre told Yahoo News Australia all of the items being thrown out had been contaminated with mould, and staff were devastated at having to get rid of so many essential items.

‘They were brand new two years ago, things that we purchased, however, they have been mould contaminated from the building,’ she said.

The charity was forced to vacate the building after it flooded two years ago and became riddled with mould but Ms Barnes said the damaged goods had only been collected by the local council on Tuesday.

‘It’s heartbreaking for us and it’s a huge cost to the organisation to replace all that,’ she said.

Ms Barnes explained the organisation had moved ‘four times’ and claimed it had been forced to pay commercial rent since moving out of the Header Street building without any compensation from the council. 

The Executive Officer at Toukley Community Centre said it was 'heartbreaking' to throw out the goods that were damaged by mould after the building flooded two years ago (town of Toukley pictured)

The Executive Officer at Toukley Community Centre said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to throw out the goods that were damaged by mould after the building flooded two years ago (town of Toukley pictured)

Central Coast Council told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday it had been 'working closely with the Toukley Neighbourhood Centre on the issue of the flood damage' (pictured, Central Coast Council building)

Central Coast Council told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday it had been ‘working closely with the Toukley Neighbourhood Centre on the issue of the flood damage’ (pictured, Central Coast Council building)

She said she was also annoyed to see the rubbish hadn’t been collected at 2pm Monday ‘when it was supposed to be removed’.

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday, Central Coast Council said it had been ‘working closely with the Toukley Neighbourhood Centre on the issue of the flood damage in the Centre over the last two years’.

The council said it had organised Cleanaway to collect the rubbish from the building ‘this week’ and it was removed on Tuesday morning after an extra truck was ordered to collect the underestimated load. 

The council said it had ‘not charged rent for the building despite there being a lease in place’ and that it had offered help to the organisation to find a new venue but the group chose to find their own.

Central Coast Council also said it had allowed the group access to other community halls free of charge.

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