Would this bother you?

[Allie322]

As silly as it is, this is one of my pet peeves. I don't know why, but it makes me nuts. In my city there is an ordinance that once you put your recycling bins out at the curb, the contents become the property of the city (or something along those lines.) So if you take stuff from them, you are tecnically breaking the law. My issue really is that cities and towns need to have a certain ratio of recyclable trash versus landfill trash. When these people take the recycling, they are decreasing the amount of recycling that the city turns in and subjecting it to fines. My taxes are high enough. And most of the people I've seen have license plates from the neighboring state! Sorry, I know I'm ranting. I'm done now.

 

[Chattyaholic]

Unless they left it strewn all over the road or my driveway, nope it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. Trash left out by the road is fair game to be picked over. As long as they put everything else that they didn't want back into the containers, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[LotsOfQuestions]

This happened in our town recently. And believe me, the residents were hopping mad.

It was actually the town council that was going around poking through everybody's trash and recyclables. They were doing a "study" on how well they thought the recycling program was working.

So, they went house to house on trash days for a number of weeks. They would open your trash cans, dig through them and write down if you were recycling or throwing away stuff that could be recycled. Then they dug through your recycle bin to see what you were recycling.

They stated that they weren't writing down addresses, but it really made the citizens feel the victims of big brother. Some citizens actually contacted a lawyer to see if they could have the study stopped. Unfortunately, they were told that once you place trash on the curb, you forfeit all rights of privacy.

The local office supply stores had a run on shredders the following weeks!

 

[rt2dz]

Wouldn't bother me one single bit (provided the rest isn't strewn about on the ground). They are still being recycled, someone else is just getting some money (instead of the recycling company) to do it. If I was to lazy to return them for money myself (which I am), why would I care if someone else was? Personal things (papers with identifying info) are cross-shredded and trashed. Just my $0.02.

Things that are in great condition, but are too heavy for us to drag off for recycling/donating (no truck anymore) actually get put out the night before trash day because so many people do drive through during the night/early morning to get that stuff. I'm all for it. Anyone who can use my trash is welcome to it.

 

[Ms. Belle]

It wouldn't bother me at all. When I lived in New Haven, there was a man who would come around every Sunday night and take the recycleble cans. I wasn't turning them in, so I was glad that someone got the money.

 

[CEDmom]

It wouldn't bother me as long as they were neat about it and stuff wasn't all over the place.

 

[aprilgail2]

Once I put it out for the trash I could care less if someone wants to pick things out of the recycling can. I do normally leave the deposit cans on the side of the recycling can in a seperate bag to help the homeless guy that comes around taking them, saves him the trouble of going through the container, he can just grab the seperate bag and be off.

 

[Bob Slydell]

It wouldn't bother me as long as they were neat about it and stuff wasn't all over the place.

Same here

 

[Maleficent13]

This is kind of what I am thinking. It's no one's business how much wine I drink woohoo: ) or what kind of Rice a Roni I cook, or how much junk mail I get or what magazines I receive.

So really, you're just upset that someone may find out about your Rice-a-Roni addiction.

 

[MosMom]

Nah, wouldn't bother me. I've seen people take larger items we've put out in the trash. I threw out a bunch of puzzle mat flooring and someone came by and picked it all up!

 

[mickeyboat]

So really, you're just upset that someone may find out about your Rice-a-Roni addiction.

Yes, that's it!

DH just stopped by my work and I mentioned it to him. I won't repeat what he said but it was something like "I don't really give a rat's behind." A neighbor told him that another neighbor did it regularly, and he donated the cans to the VA hospital. They must think they hit the returnables jackpot! I think I will have the kids start separating the into a box so they don't have to dig through it next time.

Of course, this neighor is a gossip, so I am sure the entire town knows about my love afair with the "San Francisco Treat." Maybe he didn't even notice the wine bottles.

Denae

 

[JR6ooo4]

I love the junk man, He takes things that the normal refuse company would charge us to remove.

our recycling is through the village and it we get a plastic bin to use. It states that anything in the bin is village property. So it would be the village getting upset, not us.

Mikeeee

 

[LadyyRedd]

Doesn't bother me a darn bit. I'm too lazy to take them anywhere for money, so I put them in my bin on the curb like everyone else. If someone else has the motivation or need to go around and gather them and return them for money, great for them!

Kimya

 

[AKL_Megs]

It wouldn't really bother me, although I would find it oddly funny.

We actually have about three different people who drive around "digging for treasures" throughout my neighborhood. They never dig through garbage cans, and since our recycle bins have lids, they never look through those, but they do pick through anything that is loose.

We once put out our old, yet working lawn mower. We looked out the window about an hour later, and there was a man on a bicycle standing near it. When we asked him what he was doing on our lawn, he said he wanted the lawn mower, and that his buddy with a truck was on his way over to pick it up. He was "guarding" it!

 

[C.Ann]

Nope - wouldn't bother me in the least.. If someone else can benefit from it, great!

 

[Honu]

Dumpster diving is illegal here. Once you put that can out the trash belongs to the refuge company and the recycling to the city. I had a officer stop and question me one day when I was out at the curb digging through my own stuff for our lost TV remote. He told me to wheel the bin back to the house next time.