About half an hour ago, I noticed that my dustbin has been stolen from the street where it was awaiting rubbish collection. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else, if it is significant in any way, whether it is worth telling the police and so on. In fact I'd be interested to know if it is even illegal.
Originally posted by johnbee: where it was awaiting rubbish collection.
Just checking - it was still full of your rubbish? Despite the internet coming under fire as the major facilitator of identity theft, the main source of information used is rubbish! Definitely call the police and get a crime number at least - it might help if do become a victim. I have also heard that some councils do spot checks on waste to make sure you are recycling properly.
It was a problem I encountered a few years ago. Basically over the years some bins had obviously got damaged and so people would swipe other peoples while they were out after collection. I went three weeks over Xmas a few years ago without a wheelie bin! It would regularly disappear before I got home from work on bin day. Sometimes I would just wander around and sometimes find it at the back of someone elses house.
Anyway, when someone new moved in next door to me they couldn't their bin and rang the council and asked for a new one - they didn't even ask any questions. I guess they have records which will show how often a new wheelie has been sent out.
From your point of view is your worry that your full bin was stolen? Are you sure that it wasn't just taken after they'd emptied them as they had broken or mislaid their own?
*It is not necessary to understand things in order to argue about them. -- Pierre De Beaumarchais
Me and a lady next door are always trying to out-do each other with the recycling tubs as mine are nicer and cleaner and she keeps taking them, so I go swap them when she's at work! I've marked mine!
And I used to take her bins in for her every time all the way down her drive left neatly, as they would block her drive, and she'd have to get in and out, but one time she took hers in and left mine strewn on the pavement, didn't even put them inside my gate for me. HC keeps a grudge forever so now I shove them a little to block her drive if I'm feeling that way out.
I have found that when they are emptied, the bin men don't always return them to the spot that they took them. I have ended up with extra bins from goodness knows where on my pathway. I don't want any more than one bin, and have left them out in plain sight in case anyone chooses to retrieve them... so far, nothing... I have to keep them on my property as I can be fined for putting them out on the pavement... so now I have a mountain of bins stacked inside each other on my narrow path....
But yes, it could be a neighbour fancying a new bin... or simply thinking that your bin was theirs when they went to drag theirs in... or an identity thief (who wouldn't normally bother to take the entire bin btw)...
Ary.
-------------------------------------- ***Do not, I repeat Do NOT feed the Trolls! *** *** All Hail the mighty hamsters! ***
As I mentined, last night about half past midnight, my dustbin was stolen. We asked the local authority for a replacement, but decided for the moment not to report it to the police.
About 6 this evening, a man knocked on our door and asked 'if this dustbin was ours'. (We have the number painted on the top.) He lives a couple of hndred yards up the road. This morning on going out to work he found it in his driveway with the contents dumped over his car. He refilled it, left it out to be emptied and then kindly brought it back when he got home.
I assume therefore that a couple of lads perhaps with too much to drink, (or to snort) had done it on impulse.
I have heard of joyriders, but joy dustbin trundlers? There are some strange people in the world sure enough.
Both our recycling bins were stolen but Birmingham City Council happily replaced them without a crime reference number from the police - they arrived quickly too - a rare example of good service! They advised me to paint the house number on them - is there a particular paint I should be using on plastic?
Our recycling bin goes missing about once a year, a phone call to the council gets them replaced quickly, no crime number required. I paint our house number on it in Tippex (correction fluid you get from stationers).
Do they ever get caught on the bin lorry? Because the very first time we put ours out when they were allocated round here, we got back somebody's random house number 200 numbers up, and our one with our number had disappeared not to be seen down our area of the road at all.
I have heard of joyriders, but joy dustbin trundlers? There are some strange people in the world sure enough.
Mr. cleverly left out our spent pumpkins last hallowe'en complete with scary carved faces to cheer everyone up. He left them smiling on the bin tops and was going to put them in the next morning when he left.
Apparently they must've made fantastic footballs. Lovely mess on the pavement. Two completely trashed orange explosions outside the gate. Good one Mr.
All Hail the mighty hamsters! 
left out our spent pumpkins last hallowe'en complete with scary carved faces to cheer everyone up. He left them smiling on the bin tops and was going to put them in the next morning when he left.
