Woman's kind gesture after seeing man going through her bin

A woman has been praised for her “legendary” act of kindness after seeing a man sorting his way through her family’s bin a fortnight ago.

Instead of getting “very aggrieved”, the Canberra mum took some leftover dinner out to the “gentleman”, who had been digging through the bin for used cans to recycle.

In the ACT, as part of the state’s Container Deposit Scheme, residents can claim 10 cents back on each recycled container, so long as it is considered eligible.

In a post to a local community Facebook group, the woman shared her delight at the man revisiting her home on Wednesday to return the container she had gifted him a meal in.

“Today he returned the container full of chocolates for my little ones,” she told the group.

“It takes very little effort to be kind to one another and not judge.”

She said following her pleasant exchange with the man, the family had decided to keep their cans separate from their regular rubbish “to make it easy for him when he comes to recycle”.

More than 800 people indicated their endorsement of the woman’s kind gesture, with several praising her in comments to her heartwarming post.

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“That's great. I have noticed some people get very aggrieved over anyone opening their bin, perhaps neighbours putting overflow rubbish in,” one person wrote in a comment.

“Little acts of kindness will be returned to you a thousandfold. It warms my heart on this cold Canberra morning,” another said.

“Legend. There's a lady in my area that looks for cans. She leaves things tidy, so we leave the recycle bin close to the path for easier access,” a third wrote.

The original poster later added an additional comment, saying she hoped others would take a leaf out of her book.

“Thanks for the kind words everyone, [it was] not posted for accolades for me but to give props to the gentleman who returned the container with treats (how awesome is that) and to give others an idea,” she wrote.

“If they see someone going through the bins looking for cans, bottles etc maybe take them a bottle of water or offer to leave the cans to the side for the next cycle.

“Any little bit of kindness goes a long way.”

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