Stealing Trash is a Crime
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Updated: 3:09 PM May 19, 2008
Stealing Trash is a Crime
Making someone else's trash your treasure can also land you in a heap of trouble.
Posted: 12:08 PM May 19, 2008
Reporter: Haley Harrison
Email Address: hharrison@whsv.com
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Making someone else's trash your treasure can also land you in a heap of trouble.

The city of Harrisonburg, which picks up resident's recycling, says it's a crime to take trash out of a neighbor's bin. It's a problem that crops up every time aluminum prices increase.

Right now, a pound of aluminum gets about 70 cents. While it seems like a harmless thing to do, the city warns people the trash belongs to it.

"The recycling bin was bought by the city," says Meki Shifflett, Harrisonburg's Public Works department. "It's city property, so once you put that out for collection ,you put it in city property and if anybody takes it, they're taking from city property."

Shifflett says the city makes money on the items it recycles, so if someone steals, that's lost revenue for Harrisonburg.


Latest Comments

Posted by: Kathy Location: Calif. on Feb 15, 2011 at 07:59 PM

Wait until there's 30 people coming into your neighborhood rumaging around, looking for who knows what.The money for recyling is taken away from the city. My city can't afford that. Can yours?
Posted by: Brent Location: Dayton on May 19, 2008 at 10:04 PM

Sounds like abandoned property to me, which is an exception to a search warrant!
Posted by: Don Location: Elkton on May 19, 2008 at 08:35 PM

Doesn't the city have enough problems to worry about than worrying about calling the cops if someone is getting cans out of a recycle bin?
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