Seeing those old clothes piles in Germany: Is it allowed to touch them or is it considered theft?

by 2afraid2ask22

18 comments
  1. I dont think anybody will sue you. Also: its not in Container so I dont think its evem sueable. But Im not 100% sure. Maybe wait for ppl of knowledge.

  2. I’m not sure it’s allowed to pile them up like that to begin with

  3. by law it’s theft
    but tbh reading the article i think they are glad if someone makes the pile smaller

  4. They end up on the beaches of ghana anyway so go at it i would say.

  5. I’m fairly certain that taking anything there would technically be theft. I know that Sperrmüll that’s left unattended on the Street, for example, is still someone’s property, I would assume the same applies here. On the other hand I’ve never heard of anyone getting into trouble for taking something from Sperrmüll. Plenty of people do it all the time.

    Just don’t make a mess, digging through other people’s trash. ;p

  6. Afaik it’s considered theft because this is not there for everyone to take. It’s like taking bulky waste from the side of the road, you would have to ask first. Since these clothes were “given” to the county, it’s not legal to take it without permission.
    Aside that I wouldn’t want to touch that anyway. These clothes got probably wet due to rain and that means mold. And I wouldn’t trust that these are proper wearable, clean clothes because people abuse this kind of disposal all the time.

  7. It’s still Germany after all, so you can never be certain if it’s actually legal

  8. People tear open the bags all the time, spilling everything everywhere. It rains. Clothes can’t dry properly. Everything begins to rot.

    Take what you want, but don’t make the mess worse, ok?

  9. Can the owners of the bins – Humana or whatever the cal themselves (same people I believe) – not get into trouble for not mentainting them and emptying them fast enough?

  10. It’s considered theft. Someone I know got caught digging through a pile in front of the container and a couple of cops saw them and attempted to detain them and take their details. They eventually took their info but didn’t follow up because in the end they didn’t take anything so I guess it was mostly for intimidation. They argued that the clothes weren’t even IN the container, rather just in front of it, but the cops were adamant that it’s still stealing. So sure, they didn’t go to jail or pay a fine, but basically if you’re caught doing it, you’ll have a shit time.

  11. Inside that box is considered theft. That is why they have locks. Outside is open and I would not consider that theft. Nothing is there to prevent that, so any normal person would say that it is open to the public and for anyone to take.

  12. Take it. Really noone bothers about it as long as you dont throw it around and make an even bigger mess. Same applies for Sperrmüll.

  13. i think officially it’s theft but honestly nobody cares just take it if you want something. it’s better someone who wants it gets to use it rather than it rotting away

  14. you can’t take the clothes out of the Altkleiderkontainer, but you are allowed to take the ones just laying on the ground i think

  15. I work for company that is in altkleider container ownership,it is considered theft because all the places that have containers are rented .So all the stuff u take is taking from company ,same reason why they don’ t need to be clean all the time .But people open bags and throw trash in bags ,dirty clothes ,sex toys and all kinds of stuff .It is better to just buy what u need then take from pile ,safer also.

    Sorry for bad English.

  16. Its against the law theoretically

    Although you can argue that clothes on a pile dont have a owner

    And in the end they will be happy for you to take their stuff

  17. Considering it’s a donation, if you’re in need, I’d say you just skipped the middle man. Just don’t make a mess

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