What to Do If My Bin is Lost or Stolen?

August 25, 2021 Dean Botham

You might not pay too much attention to your humble wheelie bin. It does its job, day in, day out. Until one day, it disappears.

It gets put back in the wrong place by the council and someone else claims it. It gets stolen by vandals or someone who wants to sell it on.

Either way, it’s an inconvenience. So what do you do about a lost bin?

Lost Bin Checklist

Steps	Description	Done
1. Confirm it's lost	Check if the bin is actually lost or stolen. Ensure it hasn't been taken by a neighbour or blown away by the wind.
2. Report to the police	If it's your personal property and stolen, report to the police using the 101 non-emergency number or their website.
3. Contact the local council	If the bin belongs to the council, contact them. You might need to pay for a replacement unless they damaged it.
4. Consider a Replacement	If all else fails and you're in need of a new bin, you might want to browse new wheelie bins.

First things first

It may sound obvious, but before you do anything, you need to check whether your bin is actually lost or stolen. Make sure the neighbour a few doors down hasn’t accidentally taken it in or the wonderful British weather hasn’t blown it down your street.

Report your lost bin

If the bin is your own personal property and you think that it’s been stolen, you should report it to the police. Obviously, use the 101 non-emergency number or go on the website and report the theft. You should get a crime number. While the police are too busy to look for every lost bin, the theft might indicate a wider problem in your area.

If the bin belongs to your local council, you’ll need to contact them. Depending on where you are, you may have to pay for a replacement wheelie. However, if your bin has disappeared and it emerges that the council has damaged it during collection, you shouldn’t have to pay.

Stop your bin from going missing again

It can be a huge inconvenience to have your bin lost or stolen. But there are some ways you can stop it from happening again.

Firstly, don’t put your bin out too early for collection. Seeing your bin out on the street all night might prove too tempting for vandals or thieves. Similarly, try to bring it back onto your property as soon as possible after its collection. If you’re not going to be at home, ask a trusted neighbour to take your bin in for you.
Secondly, label your bin clearly with at least your house number. This will reduce the chance of a lost bin, as will customising your bin with stickers or similar. Your average bin thief isn’t likely to steal a wheelie full of identifiable brightly coloured stickers!
Another thing you can do to avoid a stolen or lost bin is to keep it out of sight on your property. A fenced-off back garden with a locked gate is ideal.
Other things you can do to keep your bin secure include investing in wheelie bin storage or a bin lock.

How to Secure Your Wheelie Bin

Taking all these precautions may seem a little preposterous, but they are sensible to ensure your safety and to avoid being fined for acts you didn't commit.

Theft Prevention Checklist

Steps	Description	Done
1. Timely placement	Don't put your bin out too early for collection and bring it back as soon as possible after collection.
2. Label your bin	Clearly label your bin with your house number and customise it with stickers to make it identifiable.
3. Keep it out of sight	Store your bin in a fenced-off back garden with a locked gate or invest in wheelie bin storage or a bin lock.

How to Stop Your Wheelie Bin From Being Stolen

You may be surprised to learn that theft is a big problem when it comes to wheelie bins. This may be in the form of stealing items out of the bin or stealing the bin itself. There are many reasons why people do this. Stealing items means that they could keep it for themselves or try to resell them. This makes the theft of the items and the bins very valuable. They may also want to get their hands on sensitive information, such as your bank account details. Although harder nowadays, it is still possible for someone with the right information to impersonate you and withdraw money from your account. Too many of us assume that once we throw something away that is the end of it. Any sensitive information – bank statements, old cards, cheque books, credit agreements etc. – should always be shredded.

The easiest way to protect your bins from theft would be to keep them somewhere safe. Don't leave them out in the open where they can get stolen. Instead, keep them hidden or locked away. The chances of someone looking for your hidden bin are extremely low. While this may seem like a simple enough solution, there is one problem – you have to put your bin out once a week or fortnight for your rubbish to be collected!

Since you can't keep it locked up, you may have to try to find another solution on how to protect your things. Luckily, there are many devices you can buy to help keep the bins secure. One popular solution is a lock. You can put this on your bin and unlock it in the morning before your rubbish is collected.

Additionally, you could wait until collection day to put your bin out, but many people don't have time to do that in the morning. If you can't hide your bins on days where you aren't putting them out, putting a lock on your bin will help secure your items. While some people might just look at it as garbage, it's a good idea to keep prying eyes out of your waste. You could be throwing away personal information that someone could steal.

How to Avoid Your Bin Being Vandalised

Vandalized Wheelie Bin

Similarly to theft, your bins can also be vandalised. A common game with kids today is to set bins on fire. This is becoming quite the problem, and it is only getting worse. You have to make sure to protect yourself from this happening. If someone happens to set your bin on fire, you could be fined. Additionally, make sure that your bins are never placed too near your house. If your bin is set on fire, it could spread to your house and that could lead to devastating consequences.

A fire in your bin will also damage it. You would be responsible and have to pay to replace it. The solution to this is as simple as the solution to theft.

All you simply need is a lock that will keep your lid shut. This will keep delinquents out of your bin and away from your property. The appeal wears off if they can't access your bin. If you lock your bins and hide them, you will sleep much better at night.

How to Stop Other People Putting Items in Your Wheelie Bin

Even though it's rare, you can face another problem with unlocked bins. Other people may dispose of their waste in your bins, which could lead to you getting fined. By leaving your bin unlocked, neighbours or strangers can empty whatever they want into your bins. You may not even know that it happened. However, you could be fined for having too much waste.

This is something to pay attention to when you receive your monthly bill for your service. Locking up your bin will stop others from disposing of their rubbish in your bins and it makes them be responsible for their own things.