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Do you mind garbage scavengers?

Bass Viking

Bass Viking

Aug 30, 2004
10,347
13,460
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
#1
There was a story on the news last night about a local woman (who didn't want her face shown) complaining about people in vans going around on garbage day and removing items from recycling boxes and other garbage. She feels that only the needy should be doing this. Some of her neighbours were interviewed and they have no problem with it. Apparently there is a bylaw against the practice but my guess is that it's only enforced when there is a complaint.

I have no issue with somebody taking stuff out of my trash that they can use rather than it being sent to landfill. Where do you folks stand on this?
 
#4
You're getting rid of it so as long as it's gone whatever. It's helpful if you have stuff the disposal service won't take, somebody ends up taking whatever we put out here. A lot of them make some money recycling stuff, which is better than a landfill.
 
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#7
Put me in the pro-urban vulture camp. Somebody has to clean up the bottom and if it keeps something out of the landfill I am more than for it. I am also a grouchy old man though, if they leave a mess behind that is not cool. There is a guy who used to raid my trash can, I don't know if he still does, and I have never considered telling him to stop.
 
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#8
I have no problem with it as long as no mess is left behind.

In fact, anytime I have something I need to unload, I put it in front of my house and it disappears. My neighbor tried to give me an older (buy nice!) Sony projection TV and I suggested they put it in front of their house. It was gone within a half hour.

Going through the garbage is the final (yet unannounced) landing zone for the trickle down economic theory.
 
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#9
Oregon has a 5 cent bottle & can deposit law. I won't take stuff to the recycling places any more because I always seem to run into bottom-feeders there arguing with each other over who gets how much of the refund. It's always a mess too, stinky and sticky.

If I put that stuff out for Sanipac recycling pickup (it goes in a separate bin), they take it but I don't think the deposit is recovered. OTOH if someone comes along and takes the stuff ahead of Sanipac, it's a win for them. As long as they do it neatly I'm fine with it.
 
#11
I completely agree with the sentiment that if someone can use something I discarded, rather than it going into a land fill, I'm all for it. However, there are some good reasons for concern. For one, people might be mining your paper trash looking for documents containing social security numbers, bank account information, credit card numbers, and so forth. Second, there are other privacy issues: People can learn a lot about you by examining what you throw away.
 
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#12
Alkali Ike said:
Oregon has a 5 cent bottle & can deposit law. I won't take stuff to the recycling places any more because I always seem to run into bottom-feeders there arguing with each other over who gets how much of the refund. It's always a mess too, stinky and sticky.
Click to expand...

In Ontario you can bring all empty beer, wine, and liquor bottles to the Beer Store and get 10 cents a piece. Which is often used towards a beer purchase! :hyper:
 
#13
"Garbage scavengers" don't like to be called that---they prefer "re-purpose specialist" :roflmao:

I have no problem with it, as long as they don't leave a mess.

In my mom's neighborhood, it got to be such a problem, that the city council decided that permits would be required to garba-- er, uh-----re-purpose discarded items.
 
#14
I don't mind if they don't make a mess pulling stuff out of the can. Here there is a tag-team of scavengers - starting earlier and earlier the night the cans are put out and right up to the moment the truck comes!

For several weeks I watched an old Asian woman, straw collie hat on her head scrounge our street. One day, after she had gone to all the cans, she got in a new Camry and drove off! I guess if you are doing that 5 days a week for several hours a day you can make some $$.

I have a friend that lives very frugally and often dumpster dives behind businesses and apartment building, especially near the end of the month when people are moving and finds incredible stuff that she cleans up and re-sells. It is totally amazing. Once she found a box of older iPhones and iPods. I cleaned them up for her and did a system restore on them and she got $30 each for them. It is truly amazing what people will throw away.
 
#16
Big Trash, as we called it back in the 70's, was a big deal. We would ride our bikes around the neighborhood looking at all the cool stuff people were getting rid of. I scored some cool stuff back then. My hot wheels track got a lot bigger one year. I scored a powered car accelerator. (two foam wheel that spun and sent the car faster down the track) Got a G.I. Joe camper......anyway. I don't have a problem with someone taking stuff that they might use or think they need.
 
#17
Where I live when we put our garbage cans out, they are not in the public domain. They are still on our property.
You will have to trespass to rifle through our garbage. I am not comfortable with that except for the city garbage guys doing it.. Until it leaves the property, we own the garbage.
If we have something we don't want, it goes to the local charity thrift shops for free and they can do whatever they want with it.
 
#18
Bass Viking said:
There was a story on the news last night about a local woman (who didn't want her face shown) complaining about people in vans going around on garbage day and removing items from recycling boxes and other garbage. She feels that only the needy should be doing this. Some of her neighbours were interviewed and they have no problem with it. Apparently there is a bylaw against the practice but my guess is that it's only enforced when there is a complaint.

I have no issue with somebody taking stuff out of my trash that they can use rather than it being sent to landfill. Where do you folks stand on this?
Click to expand...
In many states and municipalities, it is illegal to touch other people's garbage. It is their property until it is the trash company's property. Either way, it is stealing.
 
#19
What really used to get me steamed is when I would go to the dump and some goob would start picking through my truck or trailer asking if I was going to throw certain items away. It could be a mixed load since I was in construction. If you want to pick through the garbage you earn it by your labor so it's honorable, but stay the heck away from my vehicle till I'm done or I ASK for your "help".
 
#20
The gleaners where I live are pretty neat. We put all the recyclables in one can, makes it easier for them.
I use to try and talk to one lady who came by every week but she didn't speak much English. She was an older Asian women named Ma. She looked like she had lived a pretty rough life.
It felt kind of funny saying "Hi Ma" to her. She would give me a semi toothless grin and say "Hi Steve, you have can or plastic?" Our conversations never went much past that. She would take what she wanted and then say "Have good night" then amble off to the next recycle bin.
I haven't seen her around lately I hope she is okay.
 
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