That is the question that has civic-minded Border residents in a quandary when they spot people rifling through their bins to scramble for aluminium cans and glass bottles to earn money at Return and Earn recycling hubs.

In yet another border anomaly, the legality of people rummaging bins in Victoria or NSW is chalk and cheese - it all depends on which side of the Murray River you live.

In Wodonga, council by-laws clearly state it is illegal to rummage through residents' bins, while in Albury other people's garbage - if it is on the footpath and not on their property - is fair game.

However, Wodonga and Albury councils both say if scavengers make a mess while they're pawing through your rubbish, a law is being broken - littering.

A Wodonga resident who didn't want to named said he had "no problem with people taking the initiative to get some money from recycling".

"But only if they ask," he said. "We have paper in that bin as well so, especially around election time there is a lot of junk mail with your name and address so this becomes an identity theft risk."

Wodonga Council said: "It is an offence to interfere with refuse, recyclable goods or green waste when it is left out on a road or other municipal place for collection by the council."

A council spokeswoman said: "We ask that customers wishing to put a complaint in to provide clear video footage showing the scavengers' faces, the action they are doing - like removing waste from bins - and the vehicle they are driving, along with the registration. With that information, we can follow it up through our compliance team."

Albury Council, however, said there was no law against somebody going through bins that are on council property.

"It's different if the bin is on private property - then it is a trespassing matter and should be referred to police," a spokesman said.

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"As far as property ownership goes, once it's on the kerb, it's council property but it's fair game for people to help themselves to it and then take it to one of those hubs. If these bins are being rummaged through late at night or early morning, then it might cause excessive noise and that again becomes a police matter, a noise complaint.

"The only time that would become a legal issue is if they were taking things out of the bins and littering, which would then become a littering issue.

"The EPA are encouraging people to try to use Return and Earn which is why people go through the bins.

"People think recycling cans and bottles is a good thing and they can also earn something."

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