Skip-diving

[Nova]

Ah, maybe they're what he was looking for! 

[Michael]

My ex-flat mate's brother used to work at our local municipal waste disposal site.

Half his house was furnished from skips.

Furniture, kid's bikes, television etc. etc.

There's a lot to be said for skip diving. 

[Janet]

and I know people who have done similar here ... particular when times are so hard.

[Perikles]

How can you be sure of the purpose of the light strapped to his head? He may simply have been a cyclist, with a light strapped to his head for the purpose of being seen by other traffic, who just happened to stop by the bin to look for something he'd lost earlier 

Quite! Or a Coal miner, confused at being in Tenerife and looking for a mine shaft. 

[Nova]

I have left things beside the bin many times for that very reason.  But this guy was literally diving in the bin going through the bags!  I can't think what he might find there other than personal information and used condoms 

[Nova]

Quite! Or a Coal miner, confused at being in Tenerife and looking for a mine shaft. 

Occam would be proud   

[Janet]

Why does it bother you?? People do this. As long as there's nothing personally identifiable in your basura, it shouldn't matter ... 

[Nova]

I admit that sometimes when I get deliveries I don't or can't fully remove the address label - I will now if I have to burn it on the balcony - but it just makes me uneasy. Even though most of the time all he'll find in my rubbish is empty beer cans and piggy poo.

[Janet]

but even if "he" finds an address label, he can work out any address he likes anyway. Even if your rubbish contains a specific address, it doesn't involve a risk, nor is "incriminating" 

[Nova]

But it matches my name with my address