A man was digging through the nieghbors trash at 11:40 P.M. Legal?

[McBear]

As pointed out...once it hits the curb it is public domain.

In this neighborhood, and the one prior we had folks come by every garbage night looking for stuff. Gotta admire folks who will dig through other folks garbage to get stuff to sell or to keep. Beats just doing nothing and expecting a handout.

So our whole neighborhood separates the recyclables for them. Gets rid of the stuff and gives them something to sell. And when particularly good stuff is put out my wife and I have an ice cream bet as to if it will make 11:00 pm...never does. I get a milkshake.

 

[627 city hunter]

O.K. I realize I have definitely raised some discussion and questions about the described event. Thanks all for your replies.

I called my neighbor. He happens to be a police officer, military personnel, and a high school classmate. In fact, we hang out regularly.
We go to the shooting range with his brother. He also happens to have the same law enforcement and military experience as his older brother whom I called.

The older brother said, if someone takes trash from anywhere, but the curb, then it would be a form of theft and/or trespassing. Garbage near the street is fair game as it is abandoned. He did say however that it would qualify as a suspicious person.

He told me get the license plate, if possible, and call the police were any similar suspicious person to return. That is what I intend to do, if this occurs again.

I really wouldn't have been as bothered by this event had it been in daytime, or the man asked to take things from the trash. Nightfall, especially near midnight, raises anyone's suspicion of criminal activity.

I do remember as a youth finding really nice bicycles in the trash before. I asked if I could take them. During the daylight hours, I asked permission which was consented.

 

[rburg]

On garbage night a couple came past on a regular route. If you tossed it out, they'd at least look real hard. Often they'd take something out of nearly everyone's trash.

One day I was down at what we call "Richwood Mall", a flea market about 15 miles south on I75. I looked over at the pickup truck and it sure looked familiar. He was one of the "vendors" who parked on the far side of the parking lot and sold out of his truck. It was the same guy and his wife. Putting prices on the treasures they scarfed out of our cans.

 

[Smith357]

I have taken stuff out of the trash, one guy down the road was tossing out a king sized waterbed frame, I scarfed a bunch of real nice 6 foot long 1x12s that made great shelving in my garage. I also snagged a set of cabinets for my garage from a office remodel. I'll admit it, I'm a trash picker, the courts have ruled once it hits the curb it's fair game, but you won't catch me going out after dark to do it.

 

[COL Jagdog]

The general legal rule is that once items are consigned to waste containers and left outside in the public domain (i.e. individual trash cans/dumpsters) on the curb, one has lost all expectations of privacy in the trash container's contents, thus, it is open game for dumpster divers, private eyes, law enforcement, cats, raccoons, aliens, the IRS,
nosy neighbors, and creative journalists writing tomes on our "disposable society".

Guerrilla trashcan security measures: leave an aggravated alley cat or possum at the top of your city-issued curbside dumpster trashcan.
Nosy individual comes by and lifts the plastic can lid -- and gets the surprise of his life, complete with needing pulse-lowering meds and new underwear. A bag of 5-day old peeled shrimp heads at the top of the pile also renders an olfactory knock-out punch to said trash interlopers.

 

[627 city hunter]

Excellent humor as always, COL Jagdog.

 

[A10]

Y'all think the good colonel was joking???

 

[Frank46]

I guess you could say I live in a rural area. few years ago I cleaned the shed from hell out. That's the name she gave my shed that the garden tractor and tiller are and she said she'll never go in there. Found a couple snake skins in there. So anyway I haul out to the street old chain saws that don't work, a string trimmer, bunch of big plastic buckets that chlorine for the cement pond come in and a bunch of other stuff. Called up the city barn and asked them to pick all the stuff up. They show up the next day and almost all of the stuff is gone.
Guy says to me this is it? I told him was a heckuva lot more stuff put out yesterday. Anything with personal info gets burned. I sure pity the fool that opens the can and gets a woof of our three dogs do do. I live in a neiborhood where you could drop dead on the street but do something else and the whole area would know about it. Funny thing is I never see anyone around. Radar maybe?. Any time we get something like a washer or dryer or any other appliance replaced we pay the extra $$$ to have it hauled away. Then again I have been known to check out dumpsters on occasion, my CB handle was "The Junkman" I'll let it go at that. But did manage to catch the guy next doors wife going through our trash one time. Yelled out to her "find anything interesting?" she took off. Bet that was the last time she did that. Frank

 

[bp231986]

To avoid unwanted persons going through my trash or an animal im lucky and have my day of on trash day. I have all my trash bags in the garage and in the morning when i hear the dump truck coming by ill throw on shorts run down stairs grab the trash set it on the curb and wave at the trash crew as they grab it and move on.

 

[Sebago Son]

I burn and bury everything that doesn't have a $0.05 deposit.