Everywhere I've lived it's illegal (trespassing) if they're on private property, and some places I've lived (but not most) it's illegal on the street. Most it's legal once they hit the sidewalk.
Reasonable Expectation of Privacy plummets the moment it hits the can, but people are not allowed to take anything from your property (no matter where it's located) without your permission.
If someone is rifling through ANYTHING on my property I'm going to take issue with it. If you don't have business with ME (us, whatever), then you don't have business on my property.
This is an interesting question that was addressed in CALIFORNIA v. GREENWOOD, 486 U.S. 35 (1988). In a nutshell - The police searched his trash in order to obtain proof that he was dealing narcotics - the searches were at first deemed inadmissible, then later, in a higher court, it was decided that once garbage is put on the curb, that it is open to search by any body.
Best policy is to shred anything with any personal information on it and dispose of it separately.
It's illegal in San Jose and probably where you live too. Once you put anything in a recycle bin it becomes the property of the trash collecting company though YOU, the owner, can remove anything placed inside by accident). Entering your property for the purpose of going through your garbage and recyclables is trespassing. We had this problem a few years ago. The grandparents of our neighbors came into our yard to gather stuff. I called the non-emergency line of the police department who ultimately referred me to the trash collection company. Waste Management sent a notice to the neighbors advising them they needed to stop stealing recyclables or they would be arrested and placed in jail. Can you can move your containers behind a gate until trash pick-up day? Or are these people entering your back or side yard?
Either way, I would call the police and see what can be done in your town.
I am surprised that most of the concerns are with identity theft which can be solved by not putting those papers in your trash. When we lived in Brooklyn, we noticed that even though trash was collected frequently, if you put out good stuff like furniture, clothing, boots, etc beside your trash cans they were usually gone by the time the trucks came to empty them. I am assuming people who look through other people's trash are looking for necessities for themselves which I would be happy to give them if I only knew...or artists who are looking for items to recycle into their creations. Maybe there should be a place where we can leave these things for people to obtain for free..I wanted to leave behind my down coat and well worn but still cozy lined boots before returning to CA but didn't know where to leave them so put them on top of a dumpster..hope someone found them before the trash collectors arrived!!
My hubby and I had the same problem. In this economy, I think it's become necessary for some people to make the rounds on recycle days to see what they can find and collect recycle fees on for themselves. My husband felt very irate when we first caught someone digging through our recycle bins, but we live in a "bedroom" community that does not have a homeless, or even so much of a lower-income population - so I felt terrible for whoever this person must be, recognizing that they were most likely a resident of our town who had fallen on hard times. What we did, well, what I did, was that I started collecting all of our soda cans into a separate hefty garbage bag, and then I put the bag out next to the regular recycle bin with a sign on it saying "recycleable cans - please take entire bag". On recycle collection mornings the bag would be gone before the recycle trucks arrived and we were no longer woken up by the sounds of the person going through our bins.
I would take exception if someone came on my property to rifle through my recycle bin, but once they're at the curb, I don't really have a problem because we shred anything that has personal information. However, we, too have a person who comes through our neighborhood looking for cans and bottles. We collect those items separately and leave them next to the bin. I'd much rather a needy individual gets my recyclable stuff than a big corporation (who charges me to take it away). And, if I can help this poor woman save a little of her dignity by not having to dive into my huge recyling bin, so be it. There's more of a risk of identity theft from paying your bill in a restaurant or store by credit card than by someone going through your recycling bin.
I believe that going through someone's trash and recycling is illegal. Even if that's not, trespassing is. You should contact your local law enforcement agency and ask them if they can do extra patrols in your area because of this situation. That's really about all you can do unless you catch them there, call the police, and do a citizen's arrest for trespass.
Sometimes, I put something out hoping someone WILL take it (an old grill...literally was walking away from setting it there when the old guy in his pick up came by and I told him "I put that there just for you." LOL! Actually, though, in our community, they passed a law/rule that if you want something that someone set out for trash/recycling, you have to go to the door and ask if you can take it. Personally, if I put it there, I don't want it anymore and would rather not have strangers come to my door! And I don't put anything personal w/out destroying it first, anyway.
I guess you would need to check and see what the rules are in your town/community.
I would call your local police dept and ask what the law is. I suspect if the trash is out in the street for pick up it is fair game. If the trash is still on your property I would think it's not. It is still your stuff being stored on your property. No one should be trespassing on your property to look at your stuff. However it's a fine line between trespassing and not. Anyone, including civil volunteers, mail carriers, politicians, and salespeople can legitimately walk on your property to the door for their select purpose. Might want to have the police define trespassing for you as well. Otherwise, eliminate the problem by keeping your cans behind your gate until it's time to set them out at the curb. Continue to shred your paperwork - it's important!
I live in a town in Pennsylvania called Clarion. I was with a guy who was digging in a trash bin, a guy came out of a building flash a badge real fast that you couldn’t tell what was on the badge and told the guy I was with it is illegal to take someone else’s garbage and it is 100 dollar fine.