To get rid of radioactive waste in Probably Stolen, put the barrels in a backpack, go to the Dumping Grounds after closing and leave them on the ground. Georgio will bring back the waste from your first dump, but players report he only does it once. Every barrel you dump after that stays gone. If you can’t make the trip, put the barrel inside a crate or bag you don’t need and throw the whole thing in your shop’s trash can.
This guide covers that one problem in detail, with player reports from the official Steam forums through October 29, 2026 (the day after the 1.0 launch). For the rest of the game, including scenarios, money, water and augs, see our Probably Stolen beginner’s guide.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Where it comes from: an early-game customer pays you to store barrels of radioactive waste. Players report 100 credits per barrel and up to 5 barrels, so 500 credits for the full batch.
- Best way to get rid of it: carry the barrels to the Dumping Grounds after closing and drop them there.
- The catch: Georgio returns the waste from your first dump the next day. Dump one barrel first, let him bring it back, then dump the rest. Nothing comes back after that.
- Backup method: put a barrel inside a spare container (supply crate, security crate, opened keycard crate or an old bag) and throw the container in the trash. You lose the container. The player who reported it thinks it may be a bug.
- Doesn’t work: the trash can on its own, leaving barrels outside, stopping your insurance, or selling them to customers who buy everything.
The green radiation barrel takes a big chunk of your starting inventory, which is the real cost of keeping it. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild
Where radioactive waste comes from in Probably Stolen
The barrels come from an offer, not a drop. Early in a run, a customer comes to your counter and offers to pay you to keep barrels of nuclear waste. In a Steam thread from October 29, one player calls taking all five early on “free 500 credits”. Another player took 5 on day 3. The money arrives right away. The barrels then sit in your inventory, and storage space is tight at the start of a run.
The offer doesn’t seem to come every run. One player in the Rock Bottom scenario went past day 100 without seeing it again. Treat it as a one-off windfall, not something to plan a run around.
| Item | What players report |
|---|---|
| Payment | 100 credits per barrel, paid when you accept |
| Batch size | Up to 5 barrels (500 credits) |
| When | Early in a run (one report: day 3); not seen in every run |
| Can you refuse? | Yes. If you refuse, no barrels arrive. |
| Can you sell the barrels? | No buyer has been reported, including customers who buy everything |
How to dump radioactive waste at the Dumping Grounds
The Dumping Grounds is the after-hours scavenging spot. The game’s own Update 049 patch notes describe it as the place you search for loot, where tools left on the ground count as within reach. Players agree that this is the intended disposal route. A reply in the “Nuclear Waste” Steam thread says so directly: “The intended way is to dump them to the dumping grounds.”
- Get a bag that holds the barrels. Players recommend a regular or large backpack, bought from the machine seller you can visit after closing through the shop door.
- Pack one barrel on your first trip (see the next section for why). Leave room for the loot you’ll scavenge.
- Close the shop and go to the Dumping Grounds as your after-hours stop.
- Move the barrel from your backpack onto the ground in the scavenging screen, and don’t pick it up again before you leave.
- Wait for Georgio. He returns that first barrel the next day. From then on, dump the rest. You can take several per trip.
Because you’re there anyway, use the trip to scavenge. Players say the trip has two costs: a chance of getting wounded, and one fewer customer the next day. Bring a med or two and a flashlight; Update 049 confirms the flashlight gives a bonus to your wound chances at the Dumping Grounds.
Why Georgio brings the barrels back (and how to stop it)
Many players think dumping failed when the barrels show up at the shop the next morning. It hasn’t failed. Georgio, the station regular (players also spell him Giorgio or Gorgio), finds what you dumped and brings it back to you as a favour. The reports agree on two points:
- He returns what you dumped the first time. One player dropped all five barrels and got all five back the next day.
- He only does it once. That same player then dumped one barrel a night for five nights, and “they never came back”. The October 24 and October 29 threads confirm it: “Georgio does this only for the first time” and “he doesn’t do it a second time”.
So the efficient order is to sacrifice a small first dump. If you have five barrels, you can do it in two trips: one barrel first, then the other four after Georgio returns the first. If you dump all five at once, you need a second trip for all five, which means carrying a full load twice.
| Plan | Trips | Barrels carried | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dump 1 first, then the other 4 plus the returned one | 2 | 6 | Lightest load |
| Dump all 5, then all 5 again | 2 | 10 | Works, heavy backpack needed twice |
| One barrel per night from the start | 6 | 6 | Works, most nights spent |
Trip counts follow from the reports that Georgio returns the first dump only once. The game doesn’t show this rule anywhere, so it may change in a patch.
Spare bags and crates are what players sacrifice for the trash-can method; an opened keycard crate is the cheapest. Image: Questing Goose Studio / tinyBuild
The container trick: throw it out inside a crate or bag
The shop trash can rejects a bare barrel, but players found it accepts a container that has a barrel inside. The cleaners then take the container away with the waste. The trick shows up in several threads:
- An empty security crate that no longer fit in the inventory, described as “not the cheapest way” but working.
- Supply crates, and an old small bag once you’ve bought a bigger one.
- An open security crate (from the October 29 thread).
The cost is the container. A player in a September thread worked out the cheapest option. An opened keycard crate is worth only about 12 credits once you’ve used the card and emptied it. A backpack sells for around 100 credits or more on rent day.
| Container | What you give up | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Opened keycard crate | About 12 credits (player estimate) | Cheapest reported option |
| Supply or security crate | The crate | Use empty ones you have no space for |
| Small bag / old backpack | Around 100+ credits resale (backpack) | Only once you own a bigger bag |
The player who first posted the crate method in the “Nuclear Waste” thread added: “It might be a bug, but it works right now.” Use it as a backup. Hotfixes 1.0.0.1 and 1.0.0.2 don’t mention waste disposal (checked October 30, 00:58 UTC), but a later patch could close it.
What doesn’t work
A player in the August “Nuclear Waste” thread listed everything that failed. Later threads added a few more:
| Attempt | Result |
|---|---|
| Putting the barrel straight in the trash can | Not removed |
| Leaving it outside | Not removed |
| Stopping insurance payments so it gets stolen | Never stolen |
| Selling to customers who take all items | Not accepted |
| Reporting the waste to Security | One player says Security just got mad at them |
Barrel, container, bin: the backup disposal route if a perk or injury keeps you away from the Dumping Grounds. AI-generated illustration
When you can’t go to the Dumping Grounds
Two situations block the main route, and the container trick covers both:
- A perk that turns off the Dumping Grounds. A player on October 29 had a starting perk that turns off the Dumping Grounds for the whole run (it also locked them out of a quest that needed a drop there). If you pick that perk, the crate trick is your only disposal option.
- Injuries. In the same thread, another player was hurt and couldn’t go out for 4-5 days. The barrels have to wait, or go out in a crate.
Should you accept the waste deal?
Usually, yes. For an Apprentice or Rock Bottom start, 500 credits early is a big help with rent, and getting rid of the barrels costs you two nights at the Dumping Grounds or a few cheap crates. None of the Steam threads mention a health, Security or reputation penalty for keeping the barrels. One player kept five for 117 in-game days. The real cost is storage space. Refuse only if your perks rule out the Dumping Grounds and you have no spare crates.
If you like this kind of shady side income, Schedule 1 is another game with the same loop of illegal goods and lying low. For a cleaner shop sim, see our Supermarket Simulator pricing guide and the best Supermarket Simulator licenses to buy first.
FAQ
Can you sell radioactive waste in Probably Stolen?
No buyer has been reported. Players have tried customers who buy everything, and they didn’t take the barrels. The only money is the payment you get for accepting them.
How many times does Georgio return the radioactive waste?
Once. Players report he returns the waste from your first dump the next day, and never again after that. Dump a single barrel first to keep that return small.
Does radioactive waste hurt you if you keep it?
No penalty has been reported in the official Steam discussions. The barrels mostly cost you inventory space. The developers haven’t documented any effect.
Why won’t the trash can take the barrels?
Players report that a bare barrel is not removed from the bin, while a barrel inside a crate or bag is thrown out with the container. The player who found that thinks it may be a bug.
Updated October 30, 2026: based on Probably Stolen 1.0 with hotfix 1.0.0.2 and Steam forum reports through October 29.
Sources: Probably Stolen Update 049 patch notes (Dumping Grounds scavenging, items on the ground); Water Balance & Hotfix 1.0.0.2; Steam Community discussions Nuclear Waste, Radioactive Waste!, pro tip: nuclear waste, Disposal of radioactive waste, waste barrel in a bag, Serpico quest; Steam store page.
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Featured image: AI-generated illustration
