Dustbin theft on the rise

Municipal dustbins are being stolen throughout Roodepoort and Florida at an alarming rate.

This is according to Roodepoort police’s Colonel Clive de Freitas, who adds that, while police are not seeing a significant rise in reported cases, CPF sectors and security companies within communities are reporting that dustbin theft is on the rise.

“I suspect that people are simply reporting the dustbins as lost and are paying the money to the municipality for replacement,” he says.

“Upon further investigation, it became clear that most of the dustbins that are stolen are taken out and left outside overnight before the dustbin removal day.”

Stolen municipal dustbins are widely used by illegal miners for storing gold-bearing gravel and sand.

De Freitas has urged residents to report stolen municipal dustbins to the police.

“We are tasked with staying on top of crime trends within our policing precinct, and we are unable to effectively do that if cases are not reported.

“We have alerted our officers that patrol neighbourhoods to be on the lookout for suspicious activity concerning dustbin theft, but we also urge residents to not put out their dustbins the night before.”

The Roodepoort Record has since spoken to a number of private security officers, who confirmed that dustbin theft is on the rise in Florida as well.