There's been endless debate about this stuff, so apologies if this has already been suggested.
How about, if you drop something in a public place, it can't be picked up by somebody else until you move away from it (far enough to lose the blue glow). That means that those things that you collect that don't fit in your bags and end up on the floor, or things that you put down for a moment whilst you rearrange your bags, remain within your 'active' zone and are protected until you pick them up again.
If you want to drop something and release it to the world, just drop it on the floor and take a step to the side.