Jul 27 2008
One man’s trash is another’s treasure–but….?
Trash picking, Dumpster diving, recycling - whatever you call it, getting free stuff from the dump isn’t new. For decades, many towns have given residents a place to set aside used bikes, unwanted furniture and other still-useable items for other people to take. Usually, the set-aside areas were small and the items limited.
But in recent years, as dump areas (now solid waste facilities and transfer stations) look to cut the cost of trash disposal, lower their impact on the environment and help out residents, those set-aside areas have exploded into full-sized, free-for-the-taking swap shops offering everything from tableware to kitchen sinks in which to wash them.
Donors say swap shops help them cut down on clutter and give new life to stuff they don’t want. Shoppers say it helps them get items they couldn’t otherwise afford.
Read more here.
[From me]
My birthday is soon…don’t get any ideas! :)
3 responses so far
I think the cleverest idea for this sort of thing, that I ever heard of, was a neighborhood .. usually a whole subdivision .. GROJ Sale. (Get Rid Of Junk). Everybody in the area would set all their unwanted junk out by the curb one afternoon .. the day before the trash man came .. and then neighbors could go from house to house and take whatever they wanted, free.
The next day the trash man would pick up all the leftover stuff, and haul it off.
Bob Cleveland’s last blog post..Confessions of (Another) Baptist Charismatic
Kevin, you should have warned us sooner…for those of us who like to shop early!
When I served in Virginia, their dump had a site called “Too Good to Throw Away.” A person could place truckloads of “good” stuff in that area and not be charged for doing so (any other trash was charged by the pound to unload). It was amazing some of the stuff that could be found in the area! So much good stuff that the county had to post someone there to watch over it. It seems that some enterprising people would stay at the site all day, gather up the good stuff, and then resell it at their stores! Those people had even gotten so bold that they were actually helping people unload their car, so they could be the first to get their hands on the “good” stuff.
Well, Kevin, I enjoyed my dumpster diving on your behalf…hope you enjoy the present!
M. Steve Heartsill’s last blog post..Caption This Photo, Part Two
This would be safer than Freecycle. It is good for the environment and people’s pocketbooks. Can we get one down here?