Did you ever go through other people's trash to find something interesting?

by JH 19 Replies latest jw friends

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  Sad emo

  At the local household waste site the council had to bring in security guards a couple of years back - because 'rummagers' were actually fighting over their finds.

  I often see people rummaging through litter bins for aluminium drink cans - recycling places pay 1p per can.

  Also, there's an old guy in the town centre who picks out MacDonalds/half eaten sandwiches etc - to feed to the pigeons, even though its now illegal to feed them.

  Me - I'm about to have chicken bone soup made from a carcass I rescued from Pubsingers trash yesterday (before it went in the bin I must add!)!
• 

  katiekitten

  Nothing wrong with a bit of skip diving.

  My haul to date:

  A sideboard

  An ironing board

  Two feather pillows

  A ring binder filled with plastic pockets

  A BMW car badge (OK it was off the bonnet of burned out beamer in a car park in Bristol)

  A coffee table

  Two wooden pallates to grow my tomatoes on

  They've started using huge containers that you cant haul things out of now at the local rubbish dump, but it was a bonanza before when you could reach in and get stuff. Ive also hauled out of skips on peoples drives.

  Someone once skip dived some catshit wrapped in newspaper and in a carrier bag from my bin. Great!!!
• 

  xjwms

  I had my van packed up with stuff I was going to sell at an auction.

  On my way to the auction...I passed an apt bldg with a large trash container close to the road.

  On the outside laying there was a shadow box...and the mirror was not broken, ......

  later that day it sold for $25.00 at the auction. Soooo I guess that was profit.
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  Emma

  I've never gone through someone's trash, but picked "good"stuff up if its sitting out. That's where I found my current coffee maker, and I've had it about eight years!
• 

  Rooster

  I have found a lot of nice items in the trash. Made good money $1000.00 a week from the trash..

  One day this older lady was dragging a sledgehammer to the trash I stopped and asked if she needed a hand, she gave me the hammer and an axe. The were both old craftsman tools I took them back to Sears and they gave me new ones..
• 

  serendipity

  When I was a kid I did some dumpster diving in the apartment complex I lived in. Lots of interesting things in the trash.

  I found a purse with two or three dildoes and took it home to show Mom. I asked her "what are these for?" Mom turned white and told me 'nasty women use those. Put them back in the trash." Then she made me get in the bath and scrub up with a lot of soap, while she supervised.
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  sir82

  One of my summer jobs many moons ago was riding around on the back of a garbage truck, picking up trash (in the burgh where I grew up, all garbage collection is done by private companies, not municipal).

  Over the course of 3 months or so, I picked up books, records (this was in the prehistoric times before CDs & MP3s), a case of unopened bottles of wine (had to share that one with the truck-mates), another case of unopened pre-mixed drinks (12-oz. bottles of Tom Collins, Long Island Iced Tea, etc.) (had to share that one too).

  I even found a 19th century book of stories, photos, paintings, etc. of the Civil War. It was pretty banged up, so I doubt it has much value, but it was really cool to look thru it.

  The worst thing I found was somebody who had hunted a deer, apparently gutted it in his garage, and threw out the gooey stuff in transparent plasic bags. Yuck!
• 

  jojochan

  No, I have never been involved in "poaching".

  But when I was 13 something funny happened to me on the way to dump the trash. You see at the time we lived in an apartment building, and the trash bins, well; we had to share them. So...there was this guy that lived across the way from us that had just dumped a HUGE bag of magazines before I did. So when it was my turn to dump the trash I walked out there to the bin and loe and behold....

  Playboys...mountians and MOUNTAINS of PLAYBOY MAGAZINES! Just spilling over the trash bin and onto the ground.

  Did the societies counsel on prOn get to me? No...

  I noticed stains....googobs of stains

  the tought ran in my head, "NO you must not touch it, NO...you must not look at it, for when you do partake of it you will positively die."

  I felt like Adam did when he wanted to eat from the tree of life but could not because he saw the flaming sword.

  comedy...

  jojochan.
• 

  delilah

  Yes, and I am not ashamed to admit it either! I will not, however, open garbage bags. THAT'S, a no-no!! I have found tons of cool stuff, that is re-usable. I've got an old doctor's bag, that has been a beautiful planter on my porch, old suitcases that hold all my home decor magazines, a pillar from someone's porch, that I use as a decorative plant stand. I got an old pair of men's work boots that are in my garden...I once found a box of old, b&w photos,( my husband collects photograhs) a couple of antique picture frames that adorn my dining room walls. I also found a beautiful oil painting, in excellent condition...a farmer's table and an old bakers table, an old ladder, all in excellent condition....the list is endless. I've also found lots of enamel ware pitchers and pots...a box of linens and table cloths.

  Remember, one man's junk, is another man's,(or woman's,) treasure!!
• 

  OpenFireGlass

  My dad would take me "dumpster diving" a couple times a month in the wealthy neighborhoods... Then once a year we would have a huge yard sale... Needless to say when I turned about 13 I quit going with him...

  Though when I was 15-17, My friends & i would raid construction dumpsters for lumber to build half-pipes for skateboarding... Sometimes we would wait till late, when the workers were gone to snatch up some full sheets of ply-wood to cover the ramps...