Police have a theory about why so many of the bikes crowding the Exhibits Management Centre pile up from November to January.
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And it's a theory parents aren't going to like.
''I think there are some sneaky kids out there who think, 'It's time to upgrade the bike' and we see the level of bikes rise when Christmas approaches,'' Sergeant Daryl Neit said.
Summer is always the busiest period of the year and in the past two months, 2000 of the surrendered bikes have been redistributed as part of an effort to clear the decks. A crate of lost keys recycled as part of the clean-up was so heavy it had to be moved by forklift.
There are still about 800 bikes hanging in racks at the Mitchell warehouse. After 90 days the person who found the item can claim it and after 120 days it is considered ''surrendered'', with ACT Policing allowed to dispose of the item.
Sergeant Neit said recycling companies pay between $3000 to $4000 for scrap metal from surrendered items. The rest is sold at online auction sites, given to charities or picked up by the person who handed in the lost item.
Last year the distribution of lost and found items raised about $100,000 in revenue for the ACT Government.
Almost 90 per cent of the items are never claimed.
Sergeant Neit is disappointed by the waste. ''When I was a kid and you lost something, you called the police to see if it got found,'' he said.
''Only 10 per cent of stuff handed in by the public is collected by the public. They tend to forget they can come back and get it.''
After more than two years working at the warehouse, the policeman has seen it all. Last month three strollers, a wheelchair, golf clubs, skis and poles and a flat-screen Samsung television were handed in.
''Kindles, navigation systems, mobile phones. I've seen everything from a huge jewel-encrusted sword to tools, letterboxes and clothing. It's all miscellaneous, it's all been handed in. But how someone's Samsung flat-screen TV ended up on the street is beyond me.''
There is also a plastic tub full of credit cards and another of drivers' licences and photo identification.
''The owners are informed but they don't come pick them up and so they get destroyed.''
Lost and found items held for more than 120 days are available for purchase by the general public at allbids.com.au