I’d also be sure to plant some stuff in there that might be rather shocking or hint at deviant, possibly criminal behavior. Staged videos, letters, etc.
Of course actually opening bags and rooting through them is different. I find the OP’s silence on this rather telling, though. I don’t think that was at all what she meant.
People’s definitions of “potentially useful” may vary - though the flatware thing is just crazy. This is probably not the case here, but I know that I’ve read that one’s standard for donating clothes to some charity associations should be very “gently used” - no noticeable staining, very little wear, etc. So if I have a down jacket that’s shed most of its stuffing, it may be rejected by a charity or end up being something that is now their hassle and cost to get rid of. Same with a shirt with a stubborn but not huge/obnoxious stain. Someone who’s trash-picking may disagree and tsk at how ‘wasteful’ I am.
I had to clean out a back porch at my house that had been stuffed full of children’s clothing, toys, and books, and left there for over a year. It was an enclosed porch but was still exposed to temperature/humidity extremes, not to mention the occasional mouse. I cleaned up and donated what I could, but I had to trash a fair amount that I’m sure somewhere, someone might have considered it wasteful. Mildewed books, clothing with stains, items with rubber parts (toys, swim goggles/fins, flip flops) that were cracking, etc.
If I put something out on the curb, go ahead and take it. We got rid of a second-time-handed-off couch by putting it on the curb, and an hour later, a college-age guy was on the phone to his buddy exclaiming how it’d be great for their place. My husband went outside and assured him the couch was just fine, a little old and merely too big for our house, and that he was welcome to it. (Oh, and we live in a very well-to-do suburb, through no credit of our own other than luck, so it’s not like this is a ‘redneck’ haven, to address the OP.)
But for the love of all that’s good, don’t poke in my garbage bags. Our trash guys don’t take bags that are open, and with all the crap that goes in our garbage, I don’t want to find that I have a mess and no trash picked up.
I also would hate to find myself in the “returned monitor” situation - last I checked, our town has rules about how far ahead of trash day you can put junk on the curb for pickup, and I would not have been pleased if someone had taken the broken TV (with a “broken” sign, put on there to be accurate rather than protective of our trash) we’d put out the night before trash day, only to have it returned the day after.
(And on the way out there end of the spectrum, people who are trying-to-recover serious hoarders get themselves in huge messes by worrying endlessly over what can be thrown away, what might be valuable later, what charity hoops they should be jumping through to not waste, etc. For that, just throw it all out lest you drag yourself further into hoarding.)
Me, neither. We always donate stuff like that.
Well, sometimes they are “trash”, but people want them anyway. We had a portable washer and dryer that finally fully died when they were at least 30 years old. I called the city to arrange “large item” pickup and put them out on the curb the morning of trash day. Before the city could even come, a church truck was there hauling them off. I told the guy they were broken, but he said it would give the guys in their Mission something to tinker with and maybe they could fix them. They were thrilled to have them, and to us they were, indeed, useless trash.
By the way, there’s a whole television show about 2 guys who go around dumpster diving, finding broken things, converting them to something else, and then returning the item to the original owner. Junk Brothers.
Totally agree with you (and others) on this.
I knew someone would be along to defend recreational rubbish raiding, but I admit I’m surprised to see near-unanimity in a horde led by our own self-styled Prophet of Society’s Downfall (instead of salt-of-the-earth flag-savin’ country folk, picture his sack being ransacked by vanful of hairy hippie freaks… still seem charming?)
I won’t begrudge someone for economizing; I’m sure Mrs. Turnip has discarded more than one tampon that still retained partial absorbency, so it does my heart good to imagine them finding a suitable new home—but if finding distasteful my own neighbors plunging headfirst into my eggshells, coffee grounds, and litter-crusted cat turds now qualifies as snobbery, I may never leave the Country Club grounds again.
Personally, I like the idea that someone might re-use stuff that will be thrown out. It always bothers me, for example, when the guy in the next booth from me at a restaurant has a plate of perfectly good food that he’s just left on the table. Goddamnit, I want to take it so bad, but social etiquette-- whatever the hell that is-- prevents me.
Willfully ignorant or reading comprehension problem?
I see unanimity of opinion that delving into somebody’s trashbags is disgusting. What thread have you been reading?
I’m good, but thanks for the offer.
That’s too bad. Too bad that you’re stuck with WalMart crap when you can’t afford better, that is. When my father passed a good quality but broken wooden chair at the end of the curb, he brought it home, sanded it down, and fixed it up so that it would be a lot better than the plywood crap you get at WalMart. The bookshelf beside me at this moment was obtained in that manner - it was hideously green when it came home, and now it’s a nice oak stain.
That said, opening garbage cans or bags is rude and intrusive, and taking stuff that’s not furniture, electronics or stuff like that is gross.
I’m getting the impression that some people think it the OP’s duty to provide for his loser neighbors or something. *He *gets to decide what is and what isn’t trash. Maybe you stop and consider the reusability of every item you discard but he’s under no *obligation *to do that, and besides, that’s not what his gripe is. He doesn’t like the idea of people going through his personal shit. I don’t know what the law says, but I consider whatever comes out of *my *house and goes into *my *trash can in front of my house to be * mine *until the trashman takes it away. As someone alluded to earlier, it’s an invasion of privacy.
I agree that items left by the curb are fair game, but I didn’t get from the OP that that’s the case. Maybe he’ll come back and clarify.
Well…I can totally believe there’s an exception for cops to search your trash (or, once it’s in the bin and on the curb, need only to get the easily-given permission of the trash company), but the law was intended as something to bust stalkers and paparazzi on.
I probably spelled “paparazzi” wrong. I mean the people who would steal the trash of a favorite celebrity while hanging out at the end of the driveway trying to get pictures of said celebrity.
Wanna hear a funny trash story? Once (in Florida, btw) a friend came to pick us up to go for lunch. There was no room in his car because he had an old bike that he wanted to throw away but didn’t know where. We took it out and left it in our front yard while we went for lunch. When we came back, the bike was gone. Stolen. He was pissed about it. We laughed a lot at him.
Ding ding ding.
I laughed.
Upon reconsidering, I’ve decided it’s quite beneficial to root (as you say) through trash. The possibility of finding a (hopefully) “unused” Playboy or Penthouse makes it so.
You’re what’s wrong with America.
I work in rental property management. When people move, they leave stuff.
I don’t get paid much, but I rarely have to buy furniture or clothes.
Dude.
Donate your shit to Purple Heart or some such. Then no one roots through your trash, someone else gets your non-brand-new stuff at a reasonable price, you get a tax write-off, the charity gets some money, and you don’t have to feel creeped out. Everybody wins, most of all you.
You’re welcome.
If you’re having trouble with Netflix returns, take them to the nearest post office or maildrop. Don’t leave them in your mailbox, where they can be easily taken. This is what I do, just to be on the safe side. Not because I don’t trust my neighbors.