Man Attempted To Steal From My Trash

mat200

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This homeless guy tried to steal from my trash, I didn't want a confrontation so I turned on the siren on my Ring floodlight camera. That that didn't help and he didn't care work so I yelled at the guy to go and he said "thank you".

Turn up your volume:

iirc, once you put the trash out is "available" to others - so he is probably not stealing.

Check Local Laws for “Garbage Ordinances"
Dumpster diving is technically legal in all 50 states. In 1988, there was a Supreme Court case (the State of California vs. Greenwood) that ruled searching trash is legal as long as it does not conflict with any city, county, or state ordinances. So, when a trash bag is on the curb to be picked up by a waste removal company or your trashcan is waiting at the end of your driveway, it becomes “public domain" and the Fourth Amendment no longer applies. This means most garbage can be searched or taken by the police, a neighbor, waste removal employees, or a stranger.


ref:
 

jd415

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@mat200 ok fine maybe not "stealing" but what if (not this guy) someone is going threw your trash and trying to steal your identity looking for papers that has your name, DOB, address, ect.

I'm sure he was just looking for cans or bottles to recycle but its still wrong. I would be more then happy to give him some if I saw him outside.
 

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rahhazar

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@mat200 ok fine maybe not "stealing" but what if (not this guy) someone is going threw your trash and trying to steal your identity looking for papers that has your name, DOB, address, ect.

I'm sure he was just looking for cans or bottles to recycle but its still wrong. I would be more then happy to give him some if I saw him outside.
Rule 1 and 2
Shred shred documents..
 

mat200

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@mat200 ok fine maybe not "stealing" but what if (not this guy) someone is going threw your trash and trying to steal your identity looking for papers that has your name, DOB, address, ect.

I'm sure he was just looking for cans or bottles to recycle but its still wrong. I would be more then happy to give him some if I saw him outside.
Hi @jd415

Having helped a family friend clear the house hold belongings of a loved one, I will tell you that:

1) In the Dump there is also some salvaging happening, and some at the dump will be searching for "papers that has your name, DOB, address"

Furthermore ..

2) Dumpster diving also happens at work places, and can be a useful for investors, competitors, and industrial espionage.
 

dudemaar

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iirc, once you put the trash out is "available" to others - so he is probably not stealing.

Check Local Laws for “Garbage Ordinances"
Dumpster diving is technically legal in all 50 states. In 1988, there was a Supreme Court case (the State of California vs. Greenwood) that ruled searching trash is legal as long as it does not conflict with any city, county, or state ordinances. So, when a trash bag is on the curb to be picked up by a waste removal company or your trashcan is waiting at the end of your driveway, it becomes “public domain" and the Fourth Amendment no longer applies. This means most garbage can be searched or taken by the police, a neighbor, waste removal employees, or a stranger.


ref:
Here in my town we have to pay for garbage with a $2 tag per bag. Technically he would be stealing?
 

th182

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Our city has an ordinance against "interfering with a garbage container". It prohibits dumpster diving but I believe was originally created to prevent taking recycling materials that the "owner" left out to have recycled and be paid for. It comes in handy when the scrappers try to take from scrap metal bins at fabrication shops. Most of those shops sell the scrap and get money for it. So if random people are taking it to turn in themselves, it hurts the business.


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Xeddog

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I'm not sure, but I think here in commiefornia there is an ordinance/law/something that says your trash is your property until the collection agency dumps it into their collection vehicle.
 

mat200

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Here in my town we have to pay for garbage with a $2 tag per bag. Technically he would be stealing?
Tagged bags? hmm...

Do you pre-pay for the tag, or does it get scanned?
 
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Alarm didn't even make him jump. Which tells me he is so used to making alarms go off that it's just music to his ears.
Since he was out in the street, he probably did not think he did anything to trip the alarm. He was not on anyone's property.

More power to him as long as he does not dump the trash on the ground, he is not making a mess and is stopping some crap from ending up in a land fill.

The ones that piss me off in my 'hood are those that rip open neighbor's plastic bags and pull it all out onto the street looking to see if anything in there is worth taking. Then they just leave it all blowing around the street.
 

lulu5kamz

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At least he thanked you for items he took. In the city where I live this could be a crime. The local police department has this posted on their website. "No person, other than an authorized recycling collector, shall remove recyclable material which has been placed in a designated recycling collection location. Any and each such removal in violation hereof from any designated recycling collection location shall constitute a separate and distinct offense."
 

JDreaming

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I don't mind people steal from my trash because they are trash to me. That's why I'm throwing them away in the first place. If my trash can help another person in anyway. That's all good in my book.

I shred all documents or anything with names or my address on it before taking them out to the sidewalk.

I used to get annoyed with people digging holes on my plastic recycling bags to get the soda and beer cans/bottles out because it's worth 5 cents/10 cents each. So, I just put all the soda and beer cans
in a different bag from other plastic and metal recyclable items. And put them out on the sidewalk next to the other recycling bags every few weeks instead of every week. People collecting soda/beer
cans happily takes the whole bag away without digging holes on my other recycling bags. I'm happy and they are happy.
 

flynreelow

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I don't mind people steal from my trash because they are trash to me. That's why I'm throwing them away in the first place. If my trash can help another person in anyway. That's all good in my book.

I shred all documents or anything with names or my address on it before taking them out to the sidewalk.

I used to get annoyed with people digging holes on my plastic recycling bags to get the soda and beer cans/bottles out because it's worth 5 cents/10 cents each. So, I just put all the soda and beer cans
in a different bag from other plastic and metal recyclable items. And put them out on the sidewalk next to the other recycling bags every few weeks instead of every week. People collecting soda/beer
cans happily takes the whole bag away without digging holes on my other recycling bags. I'm happy and they are happy.
this is California in a nut shell....
 
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