15 Oct
2012
15 Oct
'12
6:32 a.m.
On 15/10/2012 03:06, Mouse wrote:
When you throw something out, when does ownership of
it pass from you?
When you drop it in the trashcan? When you empty the trash into a
dustbin? When the collectors pick up the dustbin's contents? When
it's dumped into landfill (or whatever)? Never?
It probably varies according to location. In the UK, ownership of trash
passes to the local council when you put the trash in a designated bin,
box or bag on the street for collection. Ditto if you take something to
the council-run recycling centre, it becomes their property when you
dump it in the designated place. However if you hire a skip (dumpster)
and put rubbish/junk in it, ownership generally passes to the contractor
when they pick it up, and they have the right to refuse to pick it up if
you've put inappropriate or prohibited material in it.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York