Taking This From Your Neighbors Could Get You Fined In Minnesota

Next time you see recycling bins lined up at the end of the driveways in your neighborhood, you may want to continue going about your business. Why? Because apparently, you can get fined big if you take one particular item from your neighbor.

I personally have never thought about going through a garbage can or recycling bin, even my own. However, I just learned that many people do take aluminum cans from their neighbors. I am not sure why but according to certifiedrecycling.org, it costs the state about $135,000 each year.

Stealing an aluminum can from your neighbor's recycling bin can even get you a fine. Doing so is a misdemeanor in Minnesota. I did some research to figure out just how much you will have to fork out if you get busted doing so.

In the state of Minnesota, if someone steals something from someone that adds up to less than five-hundred bucks, you could be fined up to one-thousand bucks. You could also do time in jail for up to three months. The fines and jail time go up as the value of what you steal goes up.

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CBS reported on this particular situation a few years back. Their report says that people can make a living from picking up recycling from recycling bins and they do. They also reported that stealing recycling picked up during a time when the economy was down. People were doing so to make ends meet and others picked it up as a hobby when they realized they could make money off it.