Is this against the law in UK?
By chillpill90
@chillpill90 (1936)
March 31, 2013 10:37am CST
I need some help with a problem that my friend has had.
My friend was cleaning up his house and found electrical stuff he did not want and but it in the bin then put it out on the pavement which means its on public property.
The next day he went and put some more things in the bin and the electrical stuff was gone is this considered stealing since he throw it out or is it ok?
2 people like this
4 responses
@lelin1123 (15595)
• Puerto Rico
31 Mar 13
I don't know about the UK laws but I know in the United States once you put it out on public property or on the sidewalk it is for anyone to take if they wish too. In fact my hubby loves driving around looking for stuff people have thrown away that he can refurnish, reuse or fix. It is a hobbie of his. In fact the office chair I'm sitting on right now while writing this was on the sidewalk for garbage pickup. He took it home and fixed it and its works perfectly for me.
@WakeUpKitty (8694)
• Netherlands
31 Mar 13
Stealing is if you take away something that is be owned by someone else. If you throw away something it means you don't want it anymore. If you throw it away in a public bin/trash can someone who might like/need it can take it out. This has nothing to do with stealing.
@dagami (1158)
• Rome, Italy
31 Mar 13
hi, chillpill. who was the owner of those stuff that your friend threw? if it wasn't his, then who placed them inside his house? if he's just renting the house and he's moving in, then he should have asked the owner of the house since this might belong to him. if he bought the house, then this belongs to him already so he had a right to throw it.
when you throw something on the bin or on the pavement near it, you renounce your ownership of those things. in this line of argument, if someone gets these things, it is not an act of stealing. i think this applies to all countries, not only in the UK.
by the way, by BIN i presume you're referring to those large garbage bins that is for community use, not the garbage bins that we keep inside our house or garden.
