San Angelo citizens have had a lot to deal with since the change in trash pickup this July, and according to the San Angelo Police Department, “one man’s trashcan is apparently another man’s treasure.” In a press release Tuesday, Tracy Gonzalez, public information officer for SAPD said officers are dealing with “a rash of reported thefts of the 96-gallon trash bins recently issued by Republic Services.” Apparently, these thieves are selling them on Craigslist.
Gonzalez also said, “And if you think this claim is garbage, look at these statistics.” In June, 8 bins were taken, and in July, August and September, 32 total went missing.
Gonzalez added that replacing the bins is inconvenient and costly. Residents will pay about $65.00 per bin if a victim fails to file a police report. However, there are a few steps police suggest people take to help deter these thefts and assist with the reporting process should they fall victim to this crime.
- Remove the emptied bin from the roadway or alley as soon as possible. Bins left unattended are the easiest to steal.
- Record the trash-bin’s unique identification number for future reference. Residents will need this number in the event they file a police report. Take a photo of the number along with the house number, write it down and keep it in a safe place, or add it to a Citizen Property Inventory System at www.reportit.leadsonline.com (ReportIt is a free service to citizens that uses the same software as the San Angelo Police Department’s Pawn Detail).
- Report trash-bin thefts through the San Angelo Police Department’s Online Reporting System http://bit.ly/SAPDOnlineReporting. The online reporting service can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any internet-connected computer. Making an online report keeps patrol officers available to respond to emergency calls for service. For individuals who do not have access to the internet, call the Non-Emergency number (325)657-4315.
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Comments
No way will I be doing Republics job for them. If you go to Suddenlink and get a cable box, they record the serial number for their records. If you rent a big screen TV, the rental company records the serial number for their records. Republic delivered these unwanted cans themselves and should have recorded these numbers and which house they belong to when they tossed them out of the delivery truck. I could care less if mine gets stolen or how many might get stolen, I'll simply file a report as required every time and Republic will deliver me a brand new one since I'm paying double the fees now..... This service was the most asinine decision to come from this council, or at least it used to be before they now say every animal is required to be spayed or neutered..... Backwoods idiots that run this place.......
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PermalinkFrom your rant, it would seem you could NOT care less if your trash bin gets stolen.
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PermalinkNope, could care less.... If somebody wants them worse than me, they sit out in the street in front of my house and they are welcome to them.... I'm paying more now for less service, therefore if one, two, four or ten get stolen, Oh well... I'm sort of paying for them... they can just come bring me more......
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PermalinkI turned my green one into a rain cistern. It holds 100 gallons. I'd rather have the water than to use more water to wash out tuna fish cans to recycle. No brainer to me.
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Permalink"Gonzalez added that replacing the bins is inconvenient and costly. Residents will pay about $65.00 per bin if a victim fails to file a police report."
Of course, make it "inconvenient and costly" for the victim. That's always the case isn't it?
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PermalinkWas the trash contract process handled incorrectly? Absolutely. Do I like paying more for less service? Absolutely not. Does any of my complaining make a hill of beans now that this contract is already in place? Absolutely not. I understand change is hard, and it even harder when you feel you have been left out of the process, but for goodness sakes, let's suck it up and deal with it. I sometimes think that the vocal majority of San Angelo would complain about it raining money because it was $1 instead of $20's. I get that most of you don't like the trash service, but either run for election and do something about it or quit complaining.
On the topic of the actual article, what do people with the additional trash cans? If we are having a rash of trash can thefts, you would think they would be easy to find due to someone having 6-8 cans in front of their house on pickup day. I just don't see the point of stealing trash cans. I personally had mine stolen. I called Republic, they told me file the police report online which takes less than 5 minutes. In 1-2 days I had another bin at my house, no problems. If you didn't have to file a police report, the people who complain about all of their trash not fitting in the bin would be able to accumulate lots of bins without any oversight.
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Permalinkthey retail $2-300 each
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