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Your Roll off Dumpster and the Dumpster Diver

As Spring quickly approaches, so does Spring cleaning season. And with every Spring cleaning season comes the ubiquitous Dumpster Diver. Ah yes, our friend who with his/her cunning and wit is planning on rummaging through your stuff inside your dumpster and taking it for his/her own purposes. Every year, we see the cycle repeat itself. People get a roll off dumpster to clean out their house, they start using it and they come home one day to find half of the things they put in the roll off dumpster now on their driveway.

springI don’t know why they do this, but they do! I do know that since Sandy hit us, there has been a huge increase in the number of people who are scrapping metal for money and with that increase there has also been an uptick in the amount of complaints we hear about people rummaging through containers. Whether you choose to allow someone to go through your container is your choice, but there are a few things you should know first.

· Should the person injure themselves, you could be held liable for their injury if they are on your property regardless of whether or not they have permission to be there.

· If you give someone permission to rummage through your container, you would likely be held responsible for any injuries they sustained.

· Once they leave with your property, it is gone. Sensitive documents may be inside papers or files without your knowledge. If you didn’t look at every paper, who knows what is in there.

· You will likely be cleaning up again after they leave.

There are a few thing you can do to combat this problem.

· Place the container away from the street if possible.

· Keep an exterior light on at night.

· Plan your rental so as to minimize time on site.

· Place a tarp over your container to deter “shopping” while not in use. A simple tarp from your local hardware store and a few bungee cords should do.

· Destroy all paper documents prior to placing in the container.

· Break furniture items to remove any value to a “flea market connoisseur”.

· Let neighbors know you aren’t allowing anyone to “take a few things”. This is a common rule used by salvagers. They pretend to have permission and then they flee quickly under the ruse of coming back when you are home.

· Call and plan the pickup of your container in advance. Remember, it may take a couple of days for the container company to remove your roll off container from your property.

I hope these tips help you make your roll off rental a stress free project.

Be safe, be well and most of all BE HAPPY!

Dale Olander
President
D&D Disposal
(732) 341-6900