Trash Compactor Swiped From New Jersey Supermarket

MARLTON, N.J. - In a recent case of theft at a Shop Rite store here, it seems that one man's trash compactor was another man's treasure.

On the evening of Dec. 12, the store's compactor container, worth about $14,000, was stolen from behind the store, Ken Brahl, director of labor relations for Supermarkets of
Cherry Hill, told Progressive Grocer. "The thieves unhooked the two hydraulic hoses that were attached to the unit, and took off with it. We had video surveillance in back of the
store, but we don't have the theft on video."

He speculated that the thieves would have had to put the container on a trash hauler truck that's manufactured to haul such units. The stolen compactor had no markings to
distinguish it, he added.

The company is now looking into buying locks for its compactors, or possibly renting the units in the future, as opposed to buying them.

Brahl said he wanted to get the word out to other supermarket operators that their compactors might become targets for thieves. The incident appeared to be isolated,
although Brahl said he'd heard that a Pathmark store in the region also had its compactor stolen several weeks ago. Pathmark did not return calls yesterday to confirm the incident.