Has anyone ever sniffed around the garbage you sat out to be collected? Would it annoy you if someone tried to take an item you sat out to be picked up with the trash?

Our mail man actually took a big glass pig that I used for collecting pennies. I was tired of it but didn't want to put it in the trash, so I left it at the curbside in hopes that the recycler would take it. But the mail man really wanted it for something. I didn't care ~ someone got use of it.

However, a neighbor rented one of those huge dumpsters to get rid of "junk" for the landfill, and somehow a group of people got into the dumpster to collect metals. He didn't care but I would have, because I don't want even my junk to go towards feeding a drug habit.

No and no. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

Not the trash that I know of but we have a once a year pickup & people bring trucks through the neighborhoods during that time.

Oh yes when I started throwing out my vinyl records and video tapes some guy in a Van came by and stole everything. This really annoyed me because I wanted the stuff in the trash. Not long ago I threw out a whole bag of greeting cards that I have gotten over the years from family and friends, they were very personal but I had to get rid of them cause I no longer had space for them. The guy came and stole that bag and that really sent me over the edge. I felt violated having something so personal taken by some idiot that was looking to make a profit on my garbage. I know what your thinking that its in the garbage and fair game for anyone to steal but he had no right opening up my bags looking through my trash. I waited for another week, he was coming at around 6 in the morning on garbage days. I put a bag out with just paper fluffing it up so it looked large. Sure enough I saw his van coming down the street and when he got out of it, I went outside and confronted him about my greeting cards which he flatly denied. I told him if I ever catch him on my property again going through my garbage or taking anything I will call the police. He saw I was visibly angry and got back in his van real quickly and drove away but not fast enough that I didn't get his license plate number.

You should have seen the number of people lining up at our house after the flood! Everything was destroyed in our opinion, but people took the metal/electronic equipment for recycling... soooo much... was taken

Tony Marino wrote:

Oh yes when I started throwing out my vinyl records and video tapes some guy in a Van came by and stole everything. This really annoyed me because I wanted the stuff in the trash. Not long ago I threw out a whole bag of greeting cards that I have gotten over the years from family and friends, they were very personal but I had to get rid of them cause I no longer had space for them. The guy came and stole that bag and that really sent me over the edge. I felt violated having something so personal taken by some idiot that was looking to make a profit on my garbage. I know what your thinking that its in the garbage and fair game for anyone to steal but he had no right opening up my bags looking through my trash. I waited for another week, he was coming at around 6 in the morning on garbage days. I put a bag out with just paper fluffing it up so it looked large. Sure enough I saw his van coming down the street and when he got out of it, I went outside and confronted him about my greeting cards which he flatly denied. I told him if I ever catch him on my property again going through my garbage or taking anything I will call the police. He saw I was visibly angry and got back in his van real quickly and drove away but not fast enough that I didn't get his license plate number.

A persons trash is private, no one has to right to rummage through it. There can all kinds of classified information in the debris. If you want something, ask for it.

I wouldnt appreciate it but I wouldnt get that mad either. If you want something I am throwing out that bad then take it.

If I have something large, I put it out with the hope someone will come by for it.

But Tony, I can't believe your experience with the greeting cards in the trash. That is so awful. And there is a scam involving people calling elderly grandparents of people claiming to be them and asking for money. So your story is a good public service for us to tear or shred greeting cards.