Skip contents belong to the person who hired the skip, then the company
whose skip it is when they collect it. I recall a case about "Brighton
Dustmen" many years ago where they were accused of theft when going about
the age old practice of "totting" and I believe they were convicted.
The issue is that refuse is not "free for all" but is always someone's
property.
I think you have an extremely unusual issue here, and it would behove you to
take formal legal advice. The outcome could be a rather fun and huge
controversy.
-----Original Message-----
From: This list is for those interested in Data Protection issues
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Graeme Hawley
Sent: 24 February 2006 13:15
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [data-protection] Personal data found in skips
A classic Friday afternooner (and unfortunately a real case, rather than a
theoretical scenario).
We have a manuscripts collection of a particular author, and whenever items
come up for sale, we buy them. The author is in the process of selling us a
manuscript that he has written. But he didn't write his story in a normal
exercise book or jotter. Rather, he was passing a skip being used by
builders, and saw a ledger in the skip, and fished it out. The ledger has
the names of all of the builders, the companies they work for, their
signatures agian and again, and the times and dates that they clocked in and
out. He took the ledger home and wrote his story in it. Now, in addition
to the original builders' names and signatures, the book contains the
author's story. For added measure, the author has written on pages that
contained the original personal data, as well as the blank pages. If we
purchase this, any member of the public will be able to read the original
ledger, including the builders' details and signatures.
Are we in receipt of stolen goods? Is the fault really with the building
contractor for irresponsible storage / disposal of information? Should we
contact the named individuals and ask for their consent to make this
publicly available? Would redacting the ledger be an infringement of the
author's rights?
Any thoughts?
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