They went through my skip!

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Is this a thing? We have a skip outside as we have been doing some decorating/clearing out. I heard a van outside the house which seemed to have stopped so I looked out and two blokes were rummaging in the skip! I went downstairs to ask what they were doing but they had just left. I noticed some metal items had gone out of the skip.
Is this normal? Do people just drive round looking for skips to have a nose in? I’m not bothered by them taking stuff out but surely it would have been polite to ask?!

It does happen, often it’s just individuals having a rummage/skipdive. I’m not too bothered, but they ought really to ask. Same with when people put stuff in. I live opposite at sculptor’s studio. From time to time he has a skip and I’ve occasionally asked to put something in it. Notably a rusty washing line pole that I’d hoped the fence man would take as well as remove from the ground.

When a nearby house was renovating they had narrow strips of leftover new turf in their skip. A couple in a very small car collected it on a relay kinda circuit. We laughed about it. They didn’t ask her and they must have had a fun time laying the strips 😂

The only time I didn’t ask was when our annoyingly entitled neighbours plonked their skip in a spot most inconvenient for when the sculptor wanted to reverse his van out of his driveway. They used our side passageway, technically my right of way for their kitchen works. They only needed to ask, but didn’t. You know the type. Anyway, a very nice wine rack unit was in their skip. I didn’t ask 😂

They should really have had the courtesy/manners to ask beforehand, but from what I've read on MN, once you put out a skip with rubbish in, it's a free for all!

I bet the Police love people like you. They would just laugh at this.

If the skip is outside, so on a verge, fine with stuff being removed and recycled. If it's inside your garden they should knock and ask.

Putting your rubbish in someone's else's skip not fine.

It seems a bit petty to want people to come and ask you if they can have stuff you’ve already decided is rubbish and were happy to get taken away.

Yes, it does. You decided it was garbage; why should they ask?

I have read other threads on here about skips which have leaned the opposite way - skip is mine on my ladn and no-one should take anything out of it without asking.

It is technically illegal to take stuff form the skip.
And some people do object to others rummaging for whatever reason.

So I ask. Usually (if it is in our road) I'll try and catch someone as I walk past, so that I don't disturb by knocking on the door. And you only need to ask once, but the skip might be there for a month. So you can go back again and again.

Leaves you more room in your skip. Win:win.

Very normal but most people
ask first. I also like it but I guess I’m used to it.

We always leave metal stuff out at the top of the drive. Scrap metal collectors will get it within the hour usually. Last time it was a washing machine and someone did knock, but before it’s just vanished.

I’d worry more about people dumping stuff in my skip that taking stuff out.

You were throwing it away? You’ve got room for more stuff now. Win/win.

Far better than filling your skip with their stuff.

I’ve taken stuff out in the past.

It's very Normal. More bothersome to have random people keep knocking on the door asking when it's clearly rubbish to you.

FFS

I think legally they should ask as its going on your property to get it.

We've had skips but husband left metal items out so they could just take them. Ie radiators etc. But they did knock on door first.

They'll sell the metal. But it means you can fill the skip more

This happened to me when doing up my first house, it was brilliant!! Saved me a fortune I only needed one skip for the project as I kept waking up to it emptier lol

I think the idea is that it is ok to take it because it is being thrown away. But it is actually stealing to take things from a skip without permission. I remember Kirsty Allsop saying so!

We had that but they asked first. They wanted metal.

It's common. My dad does this because he hates waste... Possibly a bit too much. That said they should have knocked and asked, basic manners really.

Had a immigrant woman from next door knock & ask for me by name about a coffee table out the front 🫣🫣🫣 I didn't know the woman at all & she must have overheard me both talking about getting rid of it & also conversations I've been having with family to have known my name!

.... all in all I would have rather her to have just taken it & not said anything, was more embarrassed then i was relived it was gone 😅

We have a scrap metal man who drives around with a tanoy shouting “any scrap metal” about once a fortnight. They used to scare the life out of me as a kid because it reminded me of the child catcher off Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Id see it as a good thing you can fit more in your skip now 😂.

Normal here too. I think the skip companies tip then off (because feeling like people are constantly chasing the house worries me more 🤣) as they always turn up when we get a skip. When we had the bathroom done our workmen knew what they would want and left it in front of the skip where they could get it easier.

Yes common but technically illegal.

Scrap metal vultures will scavenge scrap metal from anywhere, some will even straight up steal it (had out conservatory broken into and our appliances stolen before, they where brand new). It can be handy occasionally though, when we need rid of old electric appliances (like microwaves etc...) we put it in the yard right by the gate, usually only takes a day or two for a scrap womble to find it and it to vanish so save a trip to the tip.

It also use to be very common for people to take furniture like desks or drawers etc... the like from a skip which is technically stealing if you don't ask. People often don't mind if they where chucking it anyway though so asking might often be a yes anyway.

I think a bigger issue is other people using your skip to dump things.

When I emptied my parents' house we had a couple of people knock on the door and ask if they could rummage through the skip. I was happy for them to do so as it meant I had more room in the skip. As it was, we filled 3 skips, probably would have been 4 if it wasn't for the skip divers.
I'm not aware of anyone else rummaging who hadn't asked and wouldn't have cared anyway. I didn't want the stuff any more and if anyone else could make use of it/repair it etc, good for them.

I can confirm THIS IS A THING!! I’ve had so many skips over the years and they attract daily raiders…I remember once they took a broken chandelier, presumably for the metal parts and he somehow dropped it when taking it to his van leaving broken glass all over the pavement. I ran out and made him clean it up! But yes, they’ll be more…and in summer sometimes they come very early like 4/5am so you don’t even see them.

If they ask I don’t have a problem.

but I won’t let them take the metal as that is also how the skip man makes his money.

I get very grumpy when I’ve stacked a skip carefully so as to fit as much in as possible and some nugget comes and images and I have to restack it all over again.