Three times a year, my city has a "neighborhood cleanup day". On those 3 days, we can clean out all the crap we want to throw away (old furniture, broken stuff, etc) and place it out on the curb and it'll be picked up and tossed. Very handy for spring cleaning, as my neighborhood's first one for the year is tomorrow.
Our city ordinance is very clear--just as it's illegal to go through someone's garbage cans, so it's illegal to go through the garbage people put out for neighborhood cleanup day. The reasoning is sound in that you wouldn't want people to make a mess in the street and on the sidewalks while rummaging through stuff to be thrown out. However, it's well known that there are two groups of people (roughly corresponding to ethnicity or national origin) who routinely go through such discard piles. They drive up and down our streets, in pickups towing utility trailers, looking for anything to take which they might fix up and make a dollar from--usually bicycles, tools, lawn mowers, appliances, etc. It's quite illegal, but as I've never seen them make a mess while doing it, I turn as much a blind eye to it as the city does. You can bet I'd report it if I saw people going through piles and then not restacking them neatly when they were done, but in all my years of participating in these cleanup days I've not seen that happen. I've heard the phrase "victimless crime" before, and this seems like a perfect example of one--as long as they straighten up the piles when they're done.
Yesterday I put out an old IBM Selectric typing table, several pots and pans that were taking up room in my garage, and some bicycle and motorcycle helmets. I placed these next to the broken-up particle board desk my neighbors placed out, and then I took off for no more than two hours. When I returned home, all that remained of what I'd put out was the bicycle helmets.
6 comments:
Anything semi-valuable we put out on the curb. We wanted to upgrade our smoker, so we put our old one on the curb with a sign on it: "It works". It was gone in 45 minutes.
In the age of reuse/recycle, I wouldn't dream of putting anything good or reusable in a bin.
I actually got a nice small drop leaf table that way. But I know that the homeowners were expecting someone to take and use it. It's now one of my cat's favorite resting spots.
Sometimes I get asked by the people if they can have it. Heck I’ll help you load it.
We can put large things out with our trash. There are people who roam with trailers who are willing to pick up furniture, water heaters and other things that people can't haul to the dump. I personally wish they would donate things to local charities but some folks can't be bothered. I used to do a project with my painting class telling them to repurpose a chair that defines their personality. It was always the last project of the year and we would do a show. The chairs were always interesting. One girl sold her repurposed mid-century desk chair for $300 and another girl got a scholarship. I've taken chandelier's and remade them into solar lights. Personally I'd rather someone reuse things than send them to a landfill.
My brother is part of the junk-picker community. From what he tells me, the regulars know that they have to be neat and responsible to avoid attention from the police. My brother picks up lawn mowers, fixes them, and sells them on Craig's List. Many of the regulars know each other, and their interests. If the scrap metal guy finds a decent looking lawn mower, he picks it up and calls my brother. If my brother finds a good bike, he picks it up for the bike guy.
I completely support that. Like Auntie Ann said, why not reuse/recycle?
Post a Comment