Is picking stuff out of trash fair game?
He was out there again this morning, trash day in my neck of Janesville's east side: The long-haired guy pulling a heavy-duty wagon. It appears that he's scanning curbside trash to pick out recyclable metal.
Is this good or bad?
I think his efforts are commendable. He's helping the environment by saving landfill space and saving energy by recycling reusable material.
It reminds me of an editorial I saved from a June edition of the Chicago Tribune. It seems the "Trash Fairy" is everywhere in Chicagoland. Instead of paying the local sanitation department a special fee to haul away your old refrigerator, just set it at the curb, and chances are that by morning it will be gone. Poof. Scavengers in beater pickup trucks patrol alleys day and night, pouncing on discarded furniture, appliances and other discarded stuff that they can repair and sell as scrap.
"The scavengers provide a service that saves homeowners money, recycles junk and keeps families fed. Win, win, win," the editorial reads.
But not so fast. City of Evanston officials were looking to license or hassle such scrappers out of town. It seems that bicycles and barbecue grills were disappearing, and even a lawn mower vanished after someone left it momentarily in an alley. Besides that, city officials suggested that such trucks, fully loaded, teetering with appliances, posed hazards.
The editorial noted that TV's Clampett family made it all the way to Beverly Hills with a precariously loaded truck. Are appliances falling off trucks really a problem in Evanston?
No, the editorial suggested, instead the city was more concerned about erosion to the $89,000 it took in last year on charges such as $25 to pick up an old refrigerator.
So should Evanston license such scrappers, taking money from people resorting to picking through trash for a living? "The sooner this idea is kicked to the curb, the better," the editorial concluded.
I agree. But back to our Janesville guy. Is he violating city ordinance?
City staffer Peter Riggs referred me to ordinance details at 8.64.140 and 8.64.240. The first part bans removal of anything placed at the landfill. The second covers ownership of materials placed at the curb. It reads:
"From the time of placement of glass, plastic, aluminum or metal containers, newsprint, magazines and/or corrugated cardboard at the curb, for the purpose of collection and recycling by the city, such materials shall be and become the property of the city."
It bans anyone from collecting such materials.
I did once see a large, older model car going from green bin to bin, collecting aluminum cans intended for recycling. But that was more than a year ago.
I've seen the guy with the wagon on recycling day, and he didn't appear to be digging through recycling bins. He was out today, and this wasn't recycling week. He appears to be scavenging items set alongside garbage cans or trash bags, stuff not intended for recycling. So in my reading, what he's doing doesn't violate city ordinance and instead does us a service.
Win for him. Win for us.
Seen any "Trash Fairies" in your neck of southern Wisconsin?
Greg Peck
Sep 1, 2009 at 11:24 a.m.
Suggest removal
I live in Evanston. I just called the city about getting a fridge and some old appliances picked up. They advised me to take the door off and leave it for the scavengers, I don't know if they're even doing the $25 pickup thing. I bet it will save them more than $90k to get rid of the pickup program. So, pirates win! yeah!
Aug 14, 2009 at 6:11 a.m.
Suggest removal
We put a couch out one time and put a free sign on it. It sat there for 4 days. The 5th night, I put a sign on it that said for sale, $25.00 and that night some one stole it. I kind of made me laugh.
Aug 13, 2009 at 9:14 a.m.
Suggest removal
Around here, it is known as curb shopping! I honestly can't think of anyone I know that hasn't done it atleast once. I have got some nice things through curb shopping. I also set things to the curb for other people. This past Tue. night, I set out a big screen tv, a microwave, a carseat, and some other misc. stuff. Guess what? Nothing was waiting for the garbage man when he got here Wed. morning.
I don't want to get rid of it bad enough to have to pay to recycle it or I don't have enough of it to have a yard sale. The only problem is that I urge caution. I almost had an accident in front of my house from the guy trying to stop and get the tv before someone else did.
Last year, after deciding that we didn't want any more kids, I set out on the curb, all of the baby stuff that we had from our two kids. The lady that came to my door to double-check that everyone was free left crying. She wouldn't have to buy anything for a long time. In this event, I had all this stuff that is very expensive to purchase, I had no use for it and I knew it would be a huge relief for someone else to get it free.
People set stuff to the curb or pick it up from the curb for a bunch of reasons. To each his own right???
I would rather that people didn't ask my permission to get something from my curb though. I wouldn't have it on the curb if I wanted to keep it.
Aug 12, 2009 at 4:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
try freecycle
Aug 12, 2009 at 3:16 p.m.
Suggest removal
If someone can make a little money and haul away my unwanted items, go for it. I didn't want it anyway. I've seen this same man on my street a time or two, and I don't think he was trying to cause any problems. he looked like he needed the money and in todays economy it's hard to make ends meet. Take my stuff anytime, I don't want it or I wouldn't have put it out in the TRASH.
Aug 12, 2009 at 2:46 p.m.
Suggest removal
This has been litigated in the case of police going through the garbage, and it has been decided that garbage is a public space, with no expectations of privacy. If the police can go through it, I say a citizen -- as long as he does not make a mess -- should be able to take what he wants. I've personally been the beneficiary of these people and have felt grateful to have my junk hauled away sooner than expected. I
If officials of the municipality have time to worry about this, then they clearly have too much time on their hands. I say they donate that time to helping someone learn to read.
Aug 12, 2009 at 2:38 p.m.
Suggest removal
I think its great that people are taking trash and recyling it or making money off of it. Someone should not need permission to take trash, obviously that person no longer wants it so why would you care if someone else took it? I recently sent a bunch of stuff/trash at my curb in boxes and wouldnt you know the next morning everything was gone - works for me!!
Aug 12, 2009 at 9:19 a.m.
Suggest removal
Yeah, I have. The first Wednesday in Milton, you can put out "big stuff" to get picked up. On Tuesday nite or Wednesday morning, there are always trucks going through curbside materials picking up things that they could use, recycle, etc. (Appliances, tires, radiators, a/c's, etc). To me that seems okay as it saves room on the trucks for actual junk and keeps (maybe) more stuff out of the landfills.
Aug 12, 2009 at 9:09 a.m.
Suggest removal
It's common courtesy to ask the owner if you can have something that's placed out at the curb, and not labeled "FREE".
Scavenging is not so bad, but can lead to bad things.
Touching my trash can is trespassing unless you have my permission, and you would get my permission if you asked.
I think you should be allowed to remove items from the landfill if you can use them. There should even be a place where people can put things they think other people can use. It's really hard climbing back out of those compactor bins. Smelly, too
Aug 12, 2009 at 9 a.m.
Suggest removal
If its garbage out on the curb- big deal..As long as the "pickers" dont make a mess. There is alot of money in Recycling of certain things.. I say kudos to him!
Aug 12, 2009 at 8:36 a.m.
Suggest removal
Thumbs up to the "scavengers".
Thumbs down to ordinance 8.64.240.
It should be obvious to everyone!
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