bellenden road/danby street - people going through bins

[Panda]

I live in this area and have noticed people rifling through wheelie bins late on a night. We had someone going through our bin last week and this morning I noticed that the bin was open and all the black bags split open.

Anyone else noticed this??

[sazzle]

yes have also had this by ed station. I have also seen people with trucks come and look through bins not sure if its for larger items? Sometimes i go to the bin and someone else has filled it with their rubbish!

[cate]

Identity theft?

[concita]

Perhaps more than that, banks and credit card details and addresses.

[cate]

That's really what I meant Concita, but didn't expand very much! I am thinking they are looking for any personal details they can use to do whatever they do to commit fraud. I shred or burn everything.

As for the people using other people's bins for their rubbish, maybe this is a consequence of the trialling fortnightly bin collections. I notice that my neighbours with nappies have their bins full way before the pick up date.

[jimmyraj]

noticed a lot of split bin bags around recently. If you've had yours done, should report it to the police so at least they can keep more of an eye on the area.

[cate]

Do you think the police would be interested? Really?? Maybe after your identity has been cloned......

[concita]

I also shred everything. Sometime ago we saw a man in a white van going around opening people rubbish or everything left in the drive to take. Despite my husband and I were watching and commenting on it, he did not take notice and went off. I took the number plate and reported it, but nothing has ever come out of it.

[jimmyraj]

I'm not saying call 999 and they'll send round a black maria with the sirens wailing; but if you do report it to the incident line they should note it down. If others have done likewise then it is more likely to prompt increased patrols / or at least looking out for it.

[puzzled]

our blue box rubbish was strewn across the front garden last week. I assumed it was a fox, but now I wonder!

[RyeCatcher]

I think I saw this guy sifting through my skip today - he came with another guy in a large white van and had a good old rummage! I assumed they were just looking for anything they could sell - can't imagine that they were looking for papers with personal details on in a skip? I'm pleased to say they didn't take anything, which must mean that I am only throwing away stuff that is of no value to anyone!

[Sue]

Great username, RyeCatcher, JD Salinger fan? :)

[louisiana]

I did dumspter dive into a skip on LL - but only to retrieve a useful piece of wood that I could see from the other side of the road. And I don't have a van - only my little legs. And I'm certainly not selling anything! Just a local resident seeking to make as many outputs as possible become an input to something else, rather than being taken to landfill (which is a key principle of permaculture).

Someone once wrote an article on the contents that flow through a skip between it being provided and picked up.

In my view, if you've dumped something in a skip in the street, and someone else thinks a thing in that skip might be useful to them, fair enough. Obviously that does not include personal info - but you'd be a bit of a twit putting such stuff in a skip, methinks. That belongs in a shredder (and thence to the compost bin, or perhaps bedding for your rabbits or hamster :)).

[Huggers]

I love it when people find something useful Ive put in the skip. Last skip we had, I was out there encouraging them. What else is going to happen to the stuff except landfill? Half the stuff we shove out is just laziness or the charity shops don't want it and though it's unsellable, it's useful to somebody. Things Ive found on skips- broken kitchen chairs lacking the middle bit when all Ive got at home is the middle bit!It's like Odd-ends Reunited.

[Cheese Board]

When we see someone going through your bin you should take a photo of them from your camera phone or a proper one if you have to hand and post it up here so we can create a 'mugshot' list of these dodgy people!