[*~Luvmy3~*]

Hi all, this evening after playing a few games of bowling, myself and DP came out to our car and seen 2 females rummaging through the clothes that were put in front of the donation bin. I thought maybe i should report it but didnt say anything then my DP said i should ring the police and report them, being thats what i had thought to do and having him agree i did just that. I rang the police and reported the ladies and the car they were driving.

Just wondering what you would do in this position, would you not worry about it or would you report it as well?

[la di dah]

No I wouldn't call the cops on people going through a heap of trash "in front" of a bin. If anything I might offer to buy them a sandwich.

I don't know what it's like out here but the donation bins I'm used to don't even pick up stuff "in front of" bins, just inside. And if someone can't afford the 5-10 dollars for clothes from an op-shop or Kmart, I'm not going to bust them for trashpicking.

It would not even have occured to me, in all honesty, to call the cops for that.

Can I have an option C that isn't "not worry" or "call cops"? Honestly I'd feel bad for them. Even if they've got other stuff wrong with them, I kind of feel like SOMETHING has to be wrong with them...?

This post has been edited by la di dah: 06/01/2013, 01:55 AM

[RainRain]

Doesn't seem dangerous for women to be rummaging through discarded clothes, just desperate. Out of interest what did the police say?

[feliz6]

I wouldn't call the police. Stuff near a donation bin probably doesn't belong to anyone, technically. I doubt they were breaking any laws. At least they weren't stealing clothes from shops. Sure it would be better if they purchased the clothes through the store who placed the donation bin there but I sure wouldn't call the cops on them. I'm grateful I'm not in a position where I need to rummage through discarded old clothes in order to find something to wear

[Bacongirl]

I wouldn't call the cops for people going through my hard waste collection on the curb, and the same for people going through the charity bins.

However, the mess that these bin divers leave behind that irks me . I get that they may need the goods, but there is no need to scatter them for metres around the bin, and then leave it there.

[CupOfCoffee]

I am not sure what I would do.

Stealing from charity bins costs the charities huge amounts of money and is not always stolen buy those in need. There have been cases where people have been found and charged with theft (where they were stealing goods and selling them).

People who steal from charity bins are not only stealing, often they destroy perfectly good stock as they look for things they want and discourage people from donating.

So while I don't know if I would ring the police, I think it was probably the right thing to do.

[Cacti]

If they were put in front of the bin (not in it), I wouldn't - it says on the bins not to leave stuff outside of them. It's not really stealing if it's just left on the ground.

[asdf89]

My understanding is that the charities have to dispose of all the stuff left outside of the bins (often at great cost)... so those women were saving the charity a few dollars!

If the people who donated the items wanted them to go to the charity, they wouldn't have left them outside the bin.

I wouldn't have bothered the police about it. Would you call the police if you saw someone dumpster diving?

[GoneWithTheWhing...]

I wouldn't have rung the police.

I probably would have wondered if they were rummaging through desperation and need rather than looking through trying to find stuff to sell on, not through desperation but as an ebay business.

[aidensmum]

The ones near our house have CCTV monitors and they report theft and licence plates to police. Have seen articles in our local paper about it being theft even when left outside the donation bins, or left outside the op shop.

I wouldnt do anything personally. If I was brave I might say something or take the rego and report it to council or something. Shame cos they would be damaging other donations in the process and leaving stuff exposed to the weather. Probably not the only bin they are going thru either.