Recycling box theft - common? And WHY!?!?!

[Somewhatfoolish]

We live in the kind of place that you leave your doors unlocked. There is to the first approximation no crime on the police.uk crime maps. What crime there is is, reading between the lines, pissheads and domestics. No acquisitive crime at all.

And yet... I have now ordered our 4th replacement recycling box (for glass) this year (of course the others' disappearance haven't been reported as a crime. So the police.uk statistics are missing out on this vital info)

Fortunately, this is free and unlimited in County Durham.

Firstly, I find it suspicious in itself that there is a clear, accessible, public policy about the price and unlimited accessibility of these. You would think it would be so rare they need replacement that they don't need a written policy.

Secondly, the stats are clear that our recylcing box keeps going missing. And not just ours - many of our neighbours too.

Is this some common thing? And if so - why? It doesn't seem like a fruitful kind of crime? I dunno how much said boxes are worth in the "black market" but struggling to think they'd be more than pennies.

The other alternative is that the bin men are taking them for some reason. But again... why?

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 30th October 00:33

[Wacky Racer]

[mac96]

Collectors chucking box into truck with contents, a frequent accident?

[Somewhatfoolish]

Wacky Racer said:

I'm considering penning an anonymous letter to the village magazine!

[Stick Legs]

I ordered a full new set as they make excellent parts boxes for working on cars...


...you don't have anyone locally who does lots of DIY car repairs or stock car racing?

[hidetheelephants]

1. Buy an airtag
2. Glue it to the replacement box
3. Wait for it to get nicked
4. Find out who it is and publicly humiliate them

[lancslad58]

Somewhatfoolish said:

We live in the kind of place that you leave your doors unlocked. There is to the first approximation no crime on the police.uk crime maps. What crime there is is, reading between the lines, pissheads and domestics. No acquisitive crime at all.

And yet... I have now ordered our 4th replacement recycling box (for glass) this year (of course the others' disappearance haven't been reported as a crime. So the police.uk statistics are missing out on this vital info)

Fortunately, this is free and unlimited in County Durham.

Firstly, I find it suspicious in itself that there is a clear, accessible, public policy about the price and unlimited accessibility of these. You would think it would be so rare they need replacement that they don't need a written policy.

Secondly, the stats are clear that our recylcing box keeps going missing. And not just ours - many of our neighbours too.

Is this some common thing? And if so - why? It doesn't seem like a fruitful kind of crime? I dunno how much said boxes are worth in the "black market" but struggling to think they'd be more than pennies.

The other alternative is that the bin men are taking them for some reason. But again... why?

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 30th October 00:33

Is it not some what foolish to think that the theft of recycling bins is vital

[Somewhatfoolish]

Stick Legs said:

I ordered a full new set as they make excellent parts boxes for working on cars...


...you don't have anyone locally who does lots of DIY car repairs or stock car racing?

I do. My extended family, for a start. Hmmm....

[Somewhatfoolish]

lancslad58 said:

Somewhatfoolish said:

We live in the kind of place that you leave your doors unlocked. There is to the first approximation no crime on the police.uk crime maps. What crime there is is, reading between the lines, pissheads and domestics. No acquisitive crime at all.

And yet... I have now ordered our 4th replacement recycling box (for glass) this year (of course the others' disappearance haven't been reported as a crime. So the police.uk statistics are missing out on this vital info)

Fortunately, this is free and unlimited in County Durham.

Firstly, I find it suspicious in itself that there is a clear, accessible, public policy about the price and unlimited accessibility of these. You would think it would be so rare they need replacement that they don't need a written policy.

Secondly, the stats are clear that our recylcing box keeps going missing. And not just ours - many of our neighbours too.

Is this some common thing? And if so - why? It doesn't seem like a fruitful kind of crime? I dunno how much said boxes are worth in the "black market" but struggling to think they'd be more than pennies.

The other alternative is that the bin men are taking them for some reason. But again... why?

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 30th October 00:33

Is it not some what foolish to think that the theft of recycling bins is vital

Depends. What if everyone in County Durham thinks it's just their street? But actually it's every street? And actually tens of millions of recylcing boxes are being "stolen" every year... by whoever supplies them to the council. At a cost of several pounds each.

WHAT IF?

[Racing Newt]

Is it me or does anyone else see the resemblance to a juvenile Tardis??

[Simpo Two]

Evidently someone is recycling them...

[Sheepshanks]

lancslad58 said:

Is it not some what foolish to think that the theft of recycling bins is vital

Theft is theft.

[lancslad58]

Sheepshanks said:

lancslad58 said:

Is it not some what foolish to think that the theft of recycling bins is vital

Theft is theft.

I take it that you didn't check out the OP's username.

[HJG]

I am more intrigued by a separate box for glass.
Do you have further segregation of your recyclables?
Everything 'recyclable' goes into one big bin here...although what is actually recycled is unknown.

[LandieMark]

In Co. Durham, glass goes in the box and all other recyclables in the blue lidded wheelie bin. Sometimes it gets put in the same truck and sometimes a different truck comes for the glass.

Out glass wasn't collected yesterday for some reason. It's all getting changed in the spring apparently when we will be getting food caddies too. Glass will then go in the blue bin.

[Robertb]

Lazy beggars who lose theirs and can’t be bothered to phone the council.

[smack]

Stick Legs said:

I ordered a full new set as they make excellent parts boxes for working on cars...


...you don't have anyone locally who does lots of DIY car repairs or stock car racing?

I want a large box to dead metal parts which eventually get taken to the scrap metal dealer. We just get big wheelie bins, which are not useful to get into a car, and yet more bins just randomly appear at our place from nowhere that we have way too many.....

[Shooter McGavin]

Probably someone running some sort of business who needs a lot of free (to them) storage boxes.

Otherwise has anyone got a cannabis grow near you? They make very handy large capacity plant pots. Giveaway is no snow on the roof when it snows thanks to all the escaping heat from the lamps, if they haven't properly insulated it.

[RazerSauber]

HJG said:

I am more intrigued by a separate box for glass.
Do you have further segregation of your recyclables?
Everything 'recyclable' goes into one big bin here...although what is actually recycled is unknown.

Ohhhhh boy. Where I live we've got every conceivable type of container for recycling. A brown wheelie bin for general household waste, a green bin for garden waste (at an extra charge no less), a black tub for glass, a green bag for cardboard, a white (formerly red) bag for plastic and metal, a smaller blue bag for paper, a smaller again grey tub for bags of food waste, and even smaller grey tub with a handle for keeping your food waste indoors until you take it out to the larger grey tub and rubbish plastic bags for lining the smallest grey tub. I remember being able to throw rubbish away instead of filing it. It largely ends up ignored apart from the brown bin, black tub and 2 recycling bags. I'm yet to see a food waste tub be left out, or a small blue paper bag be left out. We tried the food waste thing once and just ended up with maggots in it so that mysteriously disappeared.

[2020vision]

Somewhatfoolish said:

We live in the kind of place that you leave your doors unlocked. There is to the first approximation no crime on the police.uk crime maps. What crime there is is, reading between the lines, pissheads and domestics. No acquisitive crime at all.

And yet... I have now ordered our 4th replacement recycling box (for glass) this year (of course the others' disappearance haven't been reported as a crime. So the police.uk statistics are missing out on this vital info)

Fortunately, this is free and unlimited in County Durham.

Firstly, I find it suspicious in itself that there is a clear, accessible, public policy about the price and unlimited accessibility of these. You would think it would be so rare they need replacement that they don't need a written policy.

Secondly, the stats are clear that our recylcing box keeps going missing. And not just ours - many of our neighbours too.

Is this some common thing? And if so - why? It doesn't seem like a fruitful kind of crime? I dunno how much said boxes are worth in the "black market" but struggling to think they'd be more than pennies.

The other alternative is that the bin men are taking them for some reason. But again... why?

Edited by Somewhatfoolish on Wednesday 30th October 00:33

It’s hardly free is it!
Imagine if the theft of recycling boxes wasn’t rife in Durham your council tax could be £19/month instead of £20/month