Sixth Day Poll

What would you do if you saw someone you didn't recognize going through the trashcans in your neighborhood, in search of cans and bottles to recycle?

Comments

Beenzzz said…
I'm not sure. It depends. It would be a bit strange though.
8:23 PM
Atasha said…
Before we moved I had seen it in our neighborhood. I did and said nothing. I wanted to, really, but what would I have said? "Don't touch my trash?" The only reason I wanted to say something was that I noticed further down the block, there was trash right outside the people's trash can. Probably from the person going through it and just being nasty.

I did feel uncomfortable though.
9:26 PM
Awesome Mom said…
I would separate them from my trash so that they were more easily accessed. We have people going through our dumpsters all the time.
9:33 PM
Liz said…
I wouldn't do anything, as long as cans and bottles were all they were looking for. There's absolutely no reason for there to be cans and bottles mixed in with trash though, in this day and age.
3:26 AM
chichimama said…
Ditto Liz. And I would make sure that I shredded all my financial documents (in a real shredder, not just torn up).
4:09 AM
Anonymous said…
This happened to me! I scared the lady off from my neighbors recycling then called the county waste department. I only took such extreme measures b/c she was also going through the paper recycling and that make me worry about stealing identities and such. The waste department told me that it was illegal for her to do through our stuff and sent a cop out to check and make sure she wasn't doing it anywhere else in our neighborhood.
4:10 AM
Steph said…
Same with Liz and Chichimama. Especially making sure that all documents are shredded (which everyone should do anyway).
5:10 AM
Scout said…
Ah. This very same subject has been discussed in my local newspaper. Some people you should call the police, and some people think you should let people have what would otherwise end up in the landfill. We're having landfill troubles here already.

If I saw someone I didn't recognize going through the trash, I would let them have at it. If I DID recognize them, I would be curious.
5:56 AM
captain corky said…
It all depends on wear I'm living.

Because of my son and wife I would be alarmed if someone was poking around the garbage at my house now.

When I lived in DC I was friends with a few homeless people and I wouldn't have given it a second though. But Cities are much different then the Suburban areas.
6:17 AM
Ted said…
Since we live in a condo complex, that happens more often than not. Usually, we ask them to leave. One time the cops were called because it looked like the person looking for bottles and cans was also looking for "other" things to add to his collection. So, a neighbor called, the cops came out, and the guy was asked to leave. He never came back.
6:21 AM
Candy said…
I guess I'd figure they need them more than I obviously did. Or maybe he/she is an artist, and uses glass in his art? Who knows. But do shred your financials. (something I nver remember to do)
6:39 AM
Patois42 said…
I guess I wouldn't be bothered, really. If they were going through my recycling, I'd probably go out back to where I keep our bottles and cans (which we return for the money and give to the kids' school) and hand them over to him/her.
7:14 AM
Mrs. G. said…
I wouldn't care unless they were making a mess. I might think they were down on their luck or just odd, a quality I tend to like in others.
8:42 AM
Carrie @carrieloves said…
I would tell 'em to go search in their own neighborhood, these here are my cans & bottles, see.
9:19 AM
Quiskaeya said…
Wow this is an interesting question. I would be taken by surprise, so I'm not sure my reaction. I guess if their digging was causing mess outside the recepticle I might say something, I don't really know.
9:54 AM
Piece of Work said…
This is very common occurance in San Francisco and L.A, where I've spent the last 15 years, so I wouldn't give it a second thought.
10:15 AM
Granny said…
We have them all the time. I can't say I know them but I recognize the same faces and shopping carts each week.

It doesn't bother me. We don't have a lot worth recycling. I remember telling one guy years ago that we seldom drank soda, never drank beer, so there wasn't much in our cans. He remembered.

In my back yard, that would bother me. At the curb? If they can make a few cents and don't leave a mess, I let them have at it.
10:49 AM
Family Adventure said…
I'd be fine with it, as long as that is all they were looking for.

Heidi
11:47 AM
Nance said…
this is a bother. we have curbside recycling and people come by and pick up the cans and bottles we take the trouble to rinse and set out for the city to pick up and add to its coffers for our benefit. i'm not putting it out to provide secondary income for someone else who merely is an opportunist with a pickup truck. secondly, it creeps me out to have anyone root through my stuff anywhere, refuse or not. period. ICK.
11:50 AM
Trixie Twatwaffle said…
I would secretly wonder if you were in my neighborhood where my neighbors go thru our trash all the time and take our old and broken stuff.
6:05 PM
Jess T said…
Wow. I think the idea is good, but I wouldn't want someone going through my trash. I definitely would not go say anything to them! I wouldn't want them to put a face to the trash. :)
6:28 AM
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