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Embed AILSA CHANG, HOST: Some Goodwill stores are facing an unexpected challenge - fast-growing trash bills. It's the result of unsellable, broken and non-recyclable items ending up in donation bins. New Hampshire Public Radio's Todd Bookman has more on what may be behind this costly trend. UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Can we donate this? TODD BOOKMAN, BYLINE: I'll set the scene. I'm outside the Goodwill location in Seabrook, N.H. It's a bright, sunny day, and they are about to open up for donations.

Well-intended patrons are here with truckloads full of treasures. "We hope everyone brings great things that help our programs, but we know some people make some questionable judgments about what is good to donate," explains Heather Steeves, spokesperson for the 30 Goodwill locations in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. She holds up "a lampshade, which is stained and disgusting and literally falling apart." There's a small table missing a leg, cracked purple food-storage containers and a used sponge. They're just a representative sample of the useless stuff dropped off the day before. Along w...

 (Editor's note: we highly recommend listening to this story.)  Steeves is armed with trash examples that were improperly donated the day before. She holds up “a lamp shade, which is stained and disgusting and literally falling apart.” There’s a small table missing a leg, cracked purple tupperware with no lid, and a used sponge.  “All this trash adds up to more than $1 million a year in a trash bill, and it’s been growing every year for the past five years,” said Steeves. A sign detailing what is and isn't accepted for donation at Goodwill. Credit Todd Bookman/NHPR