I'm not sure if you've tried to ignore a homeless person digging through your trash, but a situation like that is unavoidable in an urban area. Rather than sticking a lock on my blue recycling bin I came up with my own informal system. I re-purposed a black square bin and carved decals and text out of old vinyl adhesive, which I applied to the sides of the bin. Here's one side of the bin:
situations where someone dug through my recycling or trash bin and pulled out its discards, leaving it out for me to put back into the recycling/trash bin. If anything, I have learned that glass bottles with lime wedges stuck inside are not as preferable to plastic bottles and aluminum cans. That tells me there is a hierarchy within crv currency. It's also a silent message to me that I should know better.
A block or neighborhood could adopt something similar like this to create a larger system of side bins filled with crv. An old classmate from undergrad experimented with a neighborhood and used bright orange spray paint on old plastic bins for the neighborhood residents to stick out once a week with their trash and recycling pick up. The report I got was that it was well received. No more trash and recycling taken and spilled out of its bin. What inspires me about her project is the neighborhood's acknowledgment of the homeless' presence. I see their willingness to separate and store their crv's in an orange bin as a neighborly gesture to those that are unfortunate and seek permeability for access. A city can be far from perfect, but a city that is aware of its flaws and attempts to address them is one I prefer to live in.