Is there a law against taking stuff out of builder skip?

[skotl]

They will gladly give you them if you ask but if you just take them then it’s theft. Saying that, if you do just take them then they won’t come after you if that’s all you’ve taken. Simple as that.

This is the most succinct (and accurate, IMO) answer.

If someone left a bunch of wood, metal or whatever in their front garden and you nabbed it and ran off then clearly it's theft.
Why would it be any different if it is in a metal container, owned by a completely different third party?

 

[Olderisbetter]

I always ask and also.point out that it saves stuff going to land fill and makes more space in the skip saving them money.

 

[dave h 2]

The dangerous bit is when the council sees you removing stuff ( legally waste) from a skip for which you need a licence.
There was the case of unofficial litter pickers who got done for that.

 

[gaz1]

The dangerous bit is when the council sees you removing stuff ( legally waste) from a skip for which you need a licence.
There was the case of unofficial litter pickers who got done for that.

id have a birthday with that

if council got off the backsides and did there job that they are paid for ( council tax ) then i wouldnt need to do so

i see this as social exclusion with the powered street brushes

if they also stop using motor brushes constantly in other areas whilst ignoring other areas
we dont see the driveable street brushes not even once a month instead they are used daily in certain areas while excluding other areas

i find it insultive to say the least

 

[TEO]

Nearby there’s a group of council bungalows having new roofs
In the skip there’s a considerable amount of new batten offcuts
Which will make excellent kindling
I hate seeing waste
Then again I don’t want to be arrested

Be careful with roofing batten, it'll have been treated & will give off v toxic stuff when you burn it.

 

[dextadriver]

Here’s the skip

 

[gaz1]

there red stained wood dont touch them if you do burn at your own risk

latts have been stained in different colours nowadays ive seen

red, blue , green and light golden brown stain with latts

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

We have a skips outside our work office.
Plastic waste, old lights mainly.
Metal skip. For old extinguishers.
Trading standards officer found some of our old units for sale at a car boot sale.

He is waiting on a court date.

 

[Robotstar5]

We have a skips outside our work office.
Plastic waste, old lights mainly.
Metal skip. For old extinguishers.
Trading standards officer found some of our old units for sale at a car boot sale.

He is waiting on a court date.

I'm surprised you don't render them unserviceable before they go in the skip, maybe drill a hole in them.

 

[Pete.]

We have a skips outside our work office.
Plastic waste, old lights mainly.
Metal skip. For old extinguishers.
Trading standards officer found some of our old units for sale at a car boot sale.

He is waiting on a court date.

What reason would trading standards have for reporting old fire extinguishers at a boot fair? Was it a company trading stall?

 

[winchman]

One place I worked at we had to take faulty stuff to the scrapyard and witness it being crushed as in the past it was scrapped and popped back up for sale. I did see a bloke at the jumble with a van full of lifting gear I don't think he sold a thing all out of date.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

What reason would trading standards have for reporting old fire extinguishers at a boot fair? Was it a company trading stall?

The official bod knew these units had been condemned and removed from customer sites.
They were due to be sent for recycling and recovering of the contents.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I'm surprised you don't render them unserviceable before they go in the skip, maybe drill a hole in them.

In the good days we could.
Pour foams and water contents down the drain.
Discharge co2 into the air.
Remove the gas from powders.

Now we have to send them all of the be recovered and recycled.
The office is too small to have the skip inside.
Over night it is locked.
But during the day the office manager leaves it open.

I disagree with that.

 

[Pete.]

I still don't understand what offence the trading standards guy is acting on. They deal with retail and workplace normally not some bod with a boot full of junk.

Their time would be better spend looking at fire precautions for people like these folks who are still trying to put it out right now:

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

I still don't understand what offence the trading standards guy is acting on. They deal with retail and workplace normally not some bod with a boot full of junk.

Their time would be better spend looking at fire precautions for people like these folks who are still trying to put it out right now:

View attachment 504084

I agree.

 

[CompoSimmonite]

I've always believed that if on pavement / road then it's classed as being in the "public domain" and you can help yourself to whatever is in it.

 

[Screwdriver]

I've always believed that if on pavement / road then it's classed as being in the "public domain" and you can help yourself to whatever is in it.

This is true except for one particular case: if it's in a skip.

I imagine it is something to do with there being a contract between the former owner and the skip company. If the skip is on private property then anything in it is still in possession of the owner. While you might be able to argue it is not theft by definition since you assume you are not strictly depriving the owner of their property since you assume they were intending to deprive themselves of it! If push comes to shove and the owner didn't realise someone accidentally lobbed a Van Gogh in the skip, you would struggle to prove "finders keepers" if only since you had no business being on private property in the first place.

If on the other hand the skip is in a public place, on the road, then anything in it is the responsibility of the skip company who have a contract to dispose of it which is just another way of saying it belongs to them. As has been observed, you could easily fit a ton of scrap metal in an 8 yard skip and thats worth £100-£200....

 

[skotl]

I've always believed that if on pavement / road then it's classed as being in the "public domain" and you can help yourself to whatever is in it.

So if I left my bike on the pavement…?

 

[gaz1]

a skip on the public rd whatever the user puts into it belongs to the skip company

if someone makes a mess by pulling out the skip contents the user is responsible for it and you can get fined even when you have put it into the skip

 

[fizzy]

My very best "skip find" ever was when we were doing a very large computer install for a big telecoms company. This was around 2000. They had a site licence for Windows NT4 but every new computer came with a book and licence as well. We had built up a room full of these. Very much in the way. Another IT contractor on the site said he knew someone who would take them off our hands. I had a word with the head of procurement. They were VERY happy with the job we were doing for them. Chap said - I don't care what yo0u do with them. Chuck them in a skip or flog them in a car boot sale
I asked if he would put that in writing so he did!
We got £10,000 for the lot. Split it 4 ways. £2500 each cash in hand! Not bad now never mind in 2000