Well, not dumpsters, but our trash and recycle cans.

My neighbor texted me earlier and said he saw a guy in a relatively new pickup truck stopped out front, going through my trash and recycle cans this morning. The neighbor, who was walking his dog at the crack of dawn, said when he approached that the guy waved, jumped into his truck and zoomed away.

I just mentioned it to my daughters, and one said she saw something similar out her bedroom window a couple weeks ago.

We don't generate much trash or recycling, and I only end up putting it out every couple weeks or so in spite of having two pickup days a week.

There's never anything valuable in it. Information is always shredded. Etc.

Does anyone have any ideas why someone might go through my trash?

Sorry for the off-topic post, but people here seem to know a little about everything! :)

It was a private investigator trying to get evidence for a crime you probably committed. ;-)

My guess is maybe people were looking for account or personal information to use for fraud stuff? Maybe they didn't know you shredded things.

I had a weird thing happen last time I put out my garbage. I put it out to the street the night before. In the morning I had a little more to add. When I opened the can, there were two full white garbage bags added that were not mine. Someone decided to use my cans to dispose of their garbage during the night. I checked to make sure it wasn't body parts. ;-}

I hate it when random strangers put stuff in my grocery cart when I'm not looking.

My qualifications: I hold the highly coveted Class A CanPicking License and the Municipal All-City DumpsterDiving Permit.

Seriously: He may have a nice pickup, but is short on income, and is out looking for cans and bottles to cash in. And, he may find something interesting (a Book of Mormon?) or value.

I live in a student neighborhood, and if you boomers think "young people are sensitive to environmental issues," you are wrong, wrong, wrong! They throw EVERYthing out, and yes, I do keep an eye out for redemption cans. In hard times, I went out aggressively, all over, to supplement the grocery bill. Now, if I find them out in the open, I might scoop them, time and inclination permitting.

This week and next are lease change-over for the college cycle, and you'd be shocked--and sickened--at the amount of really good clothes, furniture, food, books, etc. etc. ETC [!!!] that is put out on the sidewalk. A lot of underclass will be out salvaging stuff--good for them!

And don't get me going on the JUNK piled high in my farmhouse! (Now gone.)

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And don't get me going on the JUNK piled high in
> my farmhouse! (Now gone.)

Too bad you won't have it for the coming apocalypses.

but all those boxes of "Poultry Times" from the 1930s? That old wedding gown the mice nested in? Teen novels from the 1920s? (Typical title: "Dana and Doris' Summer Camp Adventure.")

Where I live it's a normal occurrence for people to go through the recycling. I see the same guys taking cans everyday.

One guy collected addresses and then sent out prayers.

Always shred your personal information. Otherwise, just ignore the rummagers. If you think they're doing something illegal, call the police. Don't confront them. My neighbor filmed one of them with her smartphone and he took off his shoe and threw it at her. She had a big bruise on her leg.

Did your daughter see someone going through your trash as well? Or was it someone else's trash?

I would report it to the police and ask what they think about it. It seems very odd to me.

Once your trash is off your property and on the sidewalk, it's considered abandoned, and fair game. If your barrel is further back, by your house, they shouldn't go into it, but they do.

I figure, let them look for things of value, and as long as they're not scattering it, what's the problem? ALso, I wonder if identity thieves actually scrounge for financial papers anymore. My (uninformed) guess is that it's mostly digital these days. (Corporate paper data is another matter.)

Unless you see something very unusual, I wouldn't worry. I'm talking, mostly, about the folks out with supermarket carriages and big black bags of cans and bottles hanging off.

Consider putting your redemption cans in a separate bag and hang it on your fence or mailbox of something. For them, it's their living.

We had the same issue when I lived in Irvine years ago. Some enterprising person would come by and "take" the cans. I doubt they took the cans so they could throw them away.

When I lived in Texas, there were people who would take recyclables and trade it for cash or claim it for themselves. Personally, I don’t like that people do that, especially when they make a mess. In some areas, it’s against the law to dumpster dive because recyclables are a source of revenue for the local government.

I guess the alternative is to take the recyclables yourself and trade it in. I spotted our old office chair in one neighbor’s garage… good luck sitting in it and not getting a backache.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses scored points because they asked us before taking stuff. They had no use for the old fake Christmas tree we threw out, though.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/27/2021 06:07AM by knotheadusc.

I volunteer at a charity food/clothing bank a few days a week.

The clothing bank gets everything. A lot of estate good.

An elderly parent passes and the children don't want the stuff and don't want to have a estate sale, etc., they just bring it the clothing bank. Everything clothes, kitchen ware, big and small furniture.

Though they don't have room for large furniture, stuff is dropped off at night. There are furniture banks in the area, they are over stocked but will pick up, but sometimes its 4-6 weeks out.

Some of the clothes is very old, 40-50 years, but have price tags still on them. They were never worn. High end brand names, but old dated style.

Excess stuff is sent over for recycle banks that work for profit.

There is always a source for items not wanted.

Lot of homeless looking for warm clothing, blankets, coats and related things.