Police are reporting a huge increase in the theft of wheelie bins from private residences.  The surge in thefts is partly being attributed to the growing number of gangs who are stealing wheelie bins to resell on the black market.

Stolen wheelie bins are being offered for resale either by people calling from door to door or by online methods such as ebay.  Police believe that one of the reasons for this surge in wheelie bin thefts is the fact that people are struggling to manage their refuse levels since many councils are now collecting non recyclable refuse twice weekly.  Many families produce more non recyclable refuse than they can deal with and a number of people are resorting to buying stolen wheelie bins which they then use alongside their regular wheelie bin.