An interesting commentary from Andrew of Here in Van Nuys about his recycling bins getting cleared out:
"The night before collection, an armada of braceros pushing shopping carts, marches down the street, and opens each blue container and removes those recyclables before the truck arrives. By the time the truck gets here, I wonder if 90% of what's inside is gone...
Not only do these collectors take away cans and bottles, but they sit and read, as if they were detectives or librarians, any magazines, papers and documents that might be inside the blue refuse container."
We have this same thing happen on a weekly basis. Personally, we don't mind that people besides the city collectors are using our bins to gather recyclable materials to make a living; it all gets to recycling facilities in one way or another. BUT, we hate finding our bins ransacked, overturned, and left in disarray, and there is the worry about personal information being divulged. What to do, what to do.
Supposedly the city is working on recycling bins that cannot be accessed except when lifted and tipped by their collecting trucks, but that might be a few years down the road. But for now, you can take a few steps yourself. First off, shred all your personal paper forms before throwing them out. Better safe than sorry. Secondly, be organized while dispensing your recyclables; putting all your cans and bottles in bags will lessen the chance someone will dig willy nilly all through your trash can. And if you're even more proactive, meet and greet with the people who look through your recycling bin and communicate your wishes, whether it to be that you prefer they stop looking through your trash, or that perhaps you can inform them which day you'd have your recyclables ready for them to gather.
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
When the City set up the recycling program, the money made from selling the recyclables was suppose to offset the cost of the collection. As much as I hate to say it, the people raiding the bins are essentially stealing funds from the City.
view spinsLPs's profile
Identity theft from these bins is extremely common. Shred all your personal stuff, including those unwanted credit card offers.
But the city's recycling program has never come close to paying its own way.
view Palmetto's profile
My colleague threw away an old signature stamp at the office. A few days later the dumpster downstairs was covered in his signature! You never can be too careful about what you throw away.
view pierrot's profile
Ah, c'mon no need to hate on working class people trying to make a little money. The city is able to waste lot of money by themselves. You want to know how your tax dollars get sent down the drain? Talk to a city worker.
In regards to the recyclers, I would go with the last suggestion. I've made friends with most of the collectors in my neighborhood. There's so much competition, that I keep some of the stuff inside until they come for it. It's a two-way street, they get the cans and bottles and I get all the neighborhood gossip! :)
I do shred almost anything that has my address on it though. You never know who will use these things somewhere down the line.
view perejil's profile
Working class people aren't the ones rummaging through other people's recyclables... that would be the homeless and the poor, at least from my observation here in Boston. 'Working class people'... what an odd comment!
view SMM's profile
Working class people aren't the ones rummaging through other people's recyclables... that would be the homeless and the poor, at least from my observation here in Boston. 'Working class people'... what an odd comment!
I talked with the can collectors in my old neighborhood, and most of them had jobs--albeit low-paying jobs. In my new neighborhood, more can collectors seem homeless and also more aggressive about searching for cans and bottles with deposits. I learned the hard way that I couldn't keep my recycling bin in my back yard before recycling day since collectors would come into my back yard in search of cans. (Hearing someone outside your bedroom window in the middle of the night can be a terrifying experience for a single woman who lives alone.)
Now I keep separate the returnables from my other recycling and set it out in a conspicuous place. The plus side of collectors coming around on days other than before recycling day is that if I have a big party, I can just set up returnable bottles and cans on the corner and know they will be gone quickly and not take up space in my recycling bin.
view bohemiangirlpdx's profile