If you own or manage an apartment building and provide a dumpster for your tenants to use, you may want to consider surrounding the dumpster with a lockable fence. Here are 3 ways people can take advantage of unsecured dumpsters. 

To prevent non-tenant use of your dumpster

Trash service can be expensive, especially for those who have gotten behind in their bills and/or need to pay a security deposit first. Sometimes, people accumulate too much trash and need to find somewhere to dump it. Regardless of the reason, dumpsters that are unsecured around apartment buildings are sometimes sought out by non-tenants to use as their dumping ground. This can add to your costs if you pay by weight and/or need to have the dumpster emptied sooner than normal. 

To prevent dumpster diving 

One man's trash is another man's treasure, which can be a good way to describe why dumpster diving is common in some areas. However, when someone dumpster dives, they run the risk of getting injured, which can pose a problem for owners of facilities such as apartment buildings. Dumpster divers could accidentally step on something sharp, twist their ankle, hit their head when climbing out of the dumpster, or get injured in other ways while dumpster diving. It's important to prevent dumpster divers from being able to access the dumpsters on your property as a way of preventing personal injury lawsuits from being filed against you. In some areas, property insurance companies offer reduced rates and special incentives for owners who do things to prevent dumpster diving, such as by installing lockable fences around their dumpsters. 

To prevent identity theft & stalker activity

Identity theft is a concern for many people, and should be for your tenants as well. Sometimes, people who steal identities dumpster dive to find the information they need, such as data from bank statements and other financial records. Even though a theft of a tenant's identity won't affect you directly, it could affect you indirectly if the identity theft results in a tenant being unable to pay their rent on time. Identity theft could easily result in bank accounts being closed and debit cards being cleaned out, which may make it difficult for a tenant to pay rent. 

For these 3 reasons, it is important for you to secure the dumpsters on your property with a lockable fence. Speak with your dumpster rental service about the requirements and recommendations they may have regarding surrounding dumpsters with fences. Visit websites like http://www.tri-statedisposal.com/ to learn more.