I probably am. Go ahead and flame me. Someone is always taking things out of our recycling bin and I don't know how I feel about it.

[Jacksmama]

We live in a townhouse complex and the recycling collection comes every Weds so we put our blue bins out in the morning. And every Weds, this man comes around with a huge plastic trash sack and takes drink cans, glass, and plastic bottles out (the ones you can redeem for cash). He does it quite openly, and yet, if this makes sense, in a somewhat furtive manner. I've had my front door open and have been sat MNing at the computer in plain view and he started rummaging in our bin, then caught sight of me, started, and hurried off to the next set of bins. Even though I didn't say anything to him or even glared. (Really, I didn't.)

So I don't know how I feel about him doing this without asking us.

On one hand, we've put them out in the recycling bin. So, clearly, we're not going to bring them to the bottle depot for the little bit of cash we could get for them.

On the other hand, really, until the recycling truck comes by, we do own everything in the bin, so I'd quite have appreciated it if this man could have rung our bell and asked if it was all right for him to take the cans and bottles since we clearly didn't want them, or even have done this the day he saw me through the open front door at the computer.

Really - I don't mind, he's welcome to them, but I do wish he'd asked.

AIBU?

Here (South Australia) at football games/other big events, people leave their cans/bottles etc on the floor & kid walk around with big bin bags collecting them, because they are worth 10c each.

You want him to ask if he can have your trash? Don't see why it is such a big problem, tbh.

Why don´t you get the money back yourself?
If you don´t need it, you could give it to a charity of your choice.
Or leave the cans in a seperate bag for the guy.

I don´t think YABU-the guy could ask when he sees you!

i agree he probably should ask, but it wouldnt bother me, unless he was walking all the way up our drive to do it - that would annoy me to be honest.

since we moved to a main road we are continually getting people knock and ask if they can have rubble (we have building work going on) and one man asked for a massive cardboard box in our recycling bin - but i guess since they asked that's fine. I find it amusing

Well done, Jacksmama for a good ending to a AIBU thread. All too often they are more, I Am Bloody Not Being Unreasonable And I Only Want People On My Thread Who Agree With Me.

The skip reminds me of my parents, who put the old kitchen in the back garden while waiting for a friend with a van to take it to the tip. By the time the friend with the van arrived, several passersby had knocked at the door and asked if they could have the old fridge/cooker/kitchen etc.

I actually think YANBU in the slightest. I wouldn't like it either. What if he rifles through the paper box every few houses and helps himself to a few account numbers and sort codes too? I wouldn't condone that simply because I felt a bit sorry for him!

And what about the people who go round helping themsevles to those bags of old clothes people leave out for charity? Is that ok too? I think it's the sense of entitlement that riles me. Just because somebody doesn't appear to want something any more doesn't make it free and available to anyone who wants to take it without checking.

If it's on the pavement then YABU if it's on your property and he's coming into your garden then YANBU.

Oh have some fucking mercy!

No, that is not OK. The person has chosen a particular good cause to send these items to, and it's unreasonable to muscle in and undo this.

"And what about the people who go round helping themsevles to those bags of old clothes people leave out for charity? Is that ok too?"