We’ve also experienced this at our scheme (once) recently. A committee member spotted someone unfamiliar going through the yellow bins, asked if he was a guest of anyone resident here and he said “no I am just doing a community service and recycling properly”. The committee member politely explained he should not be here, a security matter, families with small children, past breakins/theft etc etc. Even offered for him to finish what he was doing, just this once. He left the place in a tidy state and hasn’t been back (that we’ve seen). Though I expect many other bin raiders wouldn’t.
My concern about this (besides the obvious ones mentioned) is that kerbside recycling is in a crisis in Australia as recycled materials are not competitive with imported new cheap materials. If kerbside recyclers can’t realize a revenue stream, either consumers will pay the shortfall to keep them operating (higher council rates or supermarket shelf prices), or the lot will go to landfill. Currently, kerbside recyclers can collect the deposit on eligible containers they collect from kerbside recycling. If raiders pick out the eligible containers and cash in, the recycler is left with lower value materials and consumers/ratepayers will make up the difference. So “I am just doing a community service and recycling properly” is shown to be a sham — the stuff was going to be recycled anyway (and will probably end up at the same place) and all that’s happened is that ratepayers’ money is jingling around in the raider’s pocket.