News
Woman spotted climbing Bedok North textile recycling bin to retrieve donated clothing
How?
February 02, 2026, 07:31 PM
A few women allegedly climbed a textile recycling bin at Block 93 Bedok North on Feb. 2, 2026 and retrieved clothes from it.
The incident took place around 10am, according to a Mothership reader who was walking past the bin.
The incident
She then saw a group of women looking into the bin before one reportedly climbed on it, and came away with clothing.
Photo via Mothership reader
Photo via Mothership reader
The Mothership reader, who is 70, did not confront the women due to safety concerns in the event of a confrontation.
However, her daughter told Mothership that she was not the only witness of the incident, as there was another person at the scene.
When one of the women saw the elderly passer-by taking photos, she jumped down immediately.
She added: "Once they saw my mum with phone, they tried to hide their faces, facing the wall, blocking their faces as shown in the pictures."
She has since reported it to her town council, as well as Cloop, in hopes that they will look into it.
Cloop
Commonly sighted around neighbourhoods, the yellow bins were installed by local clothes swap organisation Cloop.
They are meant for textile recycling and not as freebies.
A Cloop spokesperson previously said in response to Mothership's queries that "there have been a number of similar situations before, where people have attempted to take items from the textile recycling bins".
Prior to this, a man had previously climbed into a textile recycling bin in Sengkang on Feb. 16, 2025, and was caught on camera passing the items from the bin to a woman nearby.
The spokesperson said Cloop has been working with its recycling partner, Lifeline Clothing, to mitigate such incidents.
Preventive measures
As of Feb. 16, 2025, its preventive measures included installing surveillance cameras in areas with high recycling volume, positioning bins near existing CCTVs, and working with the community to monitor the bins.
Members of the public who witness such incidents are advised to record the date and time of the incident and the bin number.
They can then submit these details via Cloop’s website enquiry page or WhatsApp at 80338220.
Top photos via Mothership reader
