There's a guy with a couple of stolen grocery carts going through the recycling bins in my neighborhood taking the "valuables" out for himself.

Last night some woman was doing this.

The Department of Waste has a message on my trash collection calendar that says people should call the Sheriff's Department at 916-874-5115 if they see this happening.

Bet you a nickle that your local Sheriffs dept's reply will be "So what do you want us to do about it?".

It's a bet I'd LIKE to lose, but I rather suspect that would be the case.

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Paul F.
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A sword never kills anybody; it is a tool in the killer's hand. - Lucius Annaeus Seneca c. 5 BC - 65 AD
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Good is the enemy of Excellent. Talent is not necessary for Excellence.
Persistence is necessary for Excellence. And Persistence is a Decision.
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Eureka, CA

in most place it's against the law, there have been people in my area that have been arrested for it, it's theft. Just because it's in the recycling bin doesn't mean that no one owns it, usually the township or contracted recycling company owns it.

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The Taoist Zhuangzi said, "Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone".
The sociologist, and historian, Adam Ferguson described the phenomenon of spontaneous order in society as the "result of human action, but not the execution of any human design".



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/20/2010 09:58AM by Monster.

Unless they're making a mess or causing a ruckus I don't see the problem, they might be down on their luck.

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Grateful11

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freeradical
There's a guy with a couple of stolen grocery carts going through the recycling bins in my neighborhood taking the "valuables" out for himself.

This is everyday life for me. No big whoop.
Other people dumpster-diving our dumpster, not ME, that is.

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I am not Ryan Seacrest, and I do not approve this message.

I have mixed feelings about how these recycling programs are run.

These people are stealing from the business that has the contract to pick up recyclables. They have invested a lot of resources in the form of manpower and equipment to perform this service.

What I don't like is the deposit that people must pay on recyclable items since most people just toss these things in the recycling bin anyway.

I think the best solution would be to get rid of the deposit fee, and outlaw the recycling centers that pay people who return recyclables. This would remove the incentive for these dumpster divers, and the recyclables would get picked up by the recycling firm.

We used to have a nosey retired neighbor who would do this. He wasn't hard up or struggling--just seemed to give him an excuse to poke around in everyone's trash. We had young children at the time and started putting dirty diapers right on top, which seemed to stop him. Of course, this was before we had recycling bins locally--just trash cans.

Although the recycling goods become the property of the Town or County once they are placed in the recycling bin and/or trash, if they are not making a mess, I'd let them be.
If they are dumping crap all over and they continue to do so after one admonishment from me I would call.

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freeradical

What I don't like is the deposit that people must pay on recyclable items since most people just toss these things in the recycling bin anyway.

Just think how much more would wind up in the landfill if there were no redemption deposits.

I doubt it would be profitable for scavengers to look through recycling bins everyone took their recyclables back. So I'd prefer to see HIGHER deposits but soft drinks and beer companies lobby hard for low or no deposits.

I very rarely see plastic bottles and soda cans littering our beaches and streets and I'm confident it's because of their monetary value. I do see plenty of cig butts, plastic bags and non-recyclable glass.

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freeradical
These people are stealing from the business that has the contract to pick up recyclables. They have invested a lot of resources in the form of manpower and equipment to perform this service.

Not necessarily.

Here, the city picks up the recyclables and gets some positive dollar amount per ton collected - as opposed to the per ton fee for displosal of non-recyclables.

In either case, I really don't have a problem with somebody who is at the point where the money he gets from carting aluminum cans to the scrap yard is worth his time - so long as it doesn't make a mess.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

I used to live in an area that some use to call japan town - lots of japanese families have been there since the 50s and in the last ten years, I'd seen more and more of these old asians - original home owners of this neighborhood going through the recycle bins to try to make ends meet.

I can't imagine the heartlessness that would be required to call the police on these people, The police wouldn't come unless it was a neighborhood that housed a city councilman anyway.

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Wailer
I doubt it would be profitable for scavengers to look through recycling bins everyone took their recyclables back. So I'd prefer to see HIGHER deposits but soft drinks and beer companies lobby hard for low or no deposits.

Not only them. My grandfather ran a Deli. One of the nastiest parts of the business was storing the returned emptiess - they are magnets for vermin.

I think you'll find the supermarket lobby spent a lot more effort than the soft drink lobby.

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Embarassing myself on the Internet since 1978.

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Grateful11
Unless they're making a mess or causing a ruckus I don't see the problem, they might be down on their luck.

....if you do call...gotta let you know.....I shot the SHERIFF.....but I didn't shoot the deputy....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Rock on Rosco!

Yes.

The long answer is, I would. Part of it is, the money from the recycling subsidizes our trash pickup. And the amount of trash vs recyclables is measured & regulated. And in some places the dumpster divers get territorial over productive turf. But the main reason I call our local PD is, last November somebody was going through my neighborhood's recycling bins. They weren't taking cans & bottles, though -- they were taking paperwork. A bank statement or credit card application can be worth a whole lot more than a couple pounds of aluminum.

So yes, I call the police when I see it happening & I encourage my neighbors to do the same. Some people in our Neighborhood Watch object. I've suggested they could put their bottles and cans in a separate bag and place it next to the recycling bin, if they really want to help the less fortunate. Nobody does that, though.

.....no....grew up on the streets and have been back a few times....so people can be down on their luck....

....if they don't make a mess then they can gladly have what I no longer need it it helps them.....

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

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Wailer
... So I'd prefer to see HIGHER deposits but soft drinks and beer companies lobby hard for low or no deposits.
...

I agree, make it $5/bottle, then 99.999% would get recycled, and people would drink less (less soda, less beer)

Dynamic Duo *(:>* always get their man ~!~

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NewtonMP2100
....if you do call...gotta let you know.....I shot the SHERIFF.....but I didn't shoot the deputy....

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