Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Just wondering if Im the only trash picker here on the boards?

Todays Score:
1 - hp Craftsman dozer track snowblower.

I saw a gentle man and his son tossing it into the scrap metal dumpster and just had to investigate. I wanted to ask the reason they were tossing it out. By the time I got over to the scrape dumpster they had already left, so me and my son picked it out and set it in the back of the truck and hauled it home. I checked the oil level and it was full so I gave one small pull on the recoil cord and it turned over. So it wan't lock up and that wasn't the reason to throw it out. Gave the rest of the snowblower a quick once over and didn;t see anything wrong with it. Pulled the float bowl off to check for sediment and it was clean so I reinstalled and filled the tank with fresh gas. I then set it to full choke, pumped the primer a couple times, and pulled the recoil cord "once". I roared to life and idled like it was new. All the levers worked, the transmission works, and even has reverse. I then shut it down and got to looking a little closer and found the only thing wrong with it . The auger has a broken bolt and spins on the drive shaft. I fixed the bolt and all works like new.

Score one for the garbage picker. I did a quick search on google for this particular model and they sold new for a little over $1200.00 and are still selling used for around $500.00.

Now I know a lot of you are thinking snowblower, big deal or whats that but up here in Wyoming it snows until May.

Anyway thats my score for the day. Anyone else care to contribute?

Darren

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

no picking allowed here.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

tashasdaddy said:

no picking allowed here.

Click to expand...

Same here, supposedly once someone pays to throw something in the dump the dump is obligated to keep it there.
Once saw a busted guitar of pretty good quality and they wouldn't let me have it. Guitar was trash but it had a lot of very good hardware on it. Oh well.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Ya, were not supposed to "salvage" but I figure I'll keep doing it until one of the trash cops stops me.

Darren

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Not a trash picker, but I worked three years supervising the drilling holes into landfills. We would get some very interesting things come up the hole.

A bunch of blank keys, and a small plastic Pilsbury doll come to mind.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

I am more of a garage and estate sale prowler. No freebies, but once in a while something might as well be free. Descendants too often do not get professional appraisal of personal items.

I think my best find was a camera at an estate sale. $.50 for a Zeiss Super Iconta 6cm (620) roll film camera with a Tessar 1.8 lens. Used it for years and got some wonderful shots with it. Finally sold it to a dealer in collector cameras for $575.

On the other hand, I have a "Bonsoir" wrist watch I got at another estate sale in Boca Raton for $20. Very ugly gold "nugget" band of solid 18K, undistinguished Swiss movement but 10 small diamonds on the face. Heavy. . .weighs about 5oz. I figure the bullion value is close to 4Gs, never mind the diamonds, which probably don't total a karat. Wore it twice in 25 years, both times to weddings. Too blingy for JB.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Got an old 1968 40hp Evinrude with a "free" sign on it about 18 months ago. Cost way to much to fix up as it has a blown rod, however I will most likely part it out as there are lots of useful goodies still left on it.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Almost forgot to mention I got a 7.5hp Merc given to me in 2 cardboard boxes. Guy had given up on it and his wife had put her foot down and told him to get rid of it "NOW"
Just up to the impeller and a carb clean out and we should have a nice little troller form our boat.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

That sounds like me and the generator i scored a couple of weeks ago. Good score on the snow blower.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

They won't let us take anything either. It's a shame too seeing some things thrown away. I've heard if you know "the guy" you can take whatever you want though.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

No salvaging here either, unless your the guy working the pile in the landfill.

I've been hauling dirt into the landfill for about 2 weeks now and I swear, the guy who tells everyone where to back up and dump their trash goes through everything, I saw him the other day with a 5 piece luggage set, Samsonite, nice quality stuff.

But, if you don't work there he will run you back to your vehicle....

TC

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

A friend of mines father used to work at a transfer station in an affluent part of a city. He used to bring home all kinds of goodies like lots of game machines shortly after a new version came out. His best find was a gold rolex watch.

Here where I live we grab old tires for growing potatoes.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

seaman campbell said:

No salvaging here either, unless your the guy working the pile in the landfill.

I've been hauling dirt into the landfill for about 2 weeks now and I swear, the guy who tells everyone where to back up and dump their trash goes through everything, I saw him the other day with a 5 piece luggage set, Samsonite, nice quality stuff.

But, if you don't work there he will run you back to your vehicle....

TC

Click to expand...

Sounds more like a singular greedy putz , than an actual policy .

It has always amazed me what people will discard . I once worked as a trash collector , for a brief period , which fulfilled a childhood dream of riding on the back of garbage truck .....
In that 2 week period , I made far more money by fixing and selling items I salvaged , than I did from my wages .

Lawnmowers , speakers , stereos , furniture , etc..
Lots of folks seem to have more money ( or credit cards ...) than common sense .

I'm still a dumpster diver , and , will be 1 untill I die .
John Q Public is only getting stupider as time goes by ...

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

I'm definitely not above dumpster diving. Last thing I found of any value was a 10 or 12" Sears Craftsman miter saw. Motor needs to be re-round (was blowing the breaker), but I know someone who will do it for nothing for me.

When I was at school for Computer Engineering, we shared the hall with the welding department. Many a times if you looked in the dumpster outside the welding shop there would be lots of scrap steel or aluminum. One particular day, a whole bunch of circuit boards from blown up welders. One of my instructors and myself were out having a smoke so we split up the bounty to salvage the components that were still good.

I always look to see what trash my neighbors are tossing, just in case.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Before they stopped picking I often used to bring home more than I brought.
Some of the thing that come to mind
pressure washer
Half full propane tanks
Bicycle
Plastic case for circular saw
flowers from green house
cash
hammers
tape measures
satellite receiver
Assorted lumber
Water pumps
sewing machines
tables
chairs

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

Wasn't the "dump" the first local Walmart??? LOL Growing up I definately had my fair share of goodies that came from the dump. As a matter of a fact, around here, it was a rite of passage for young kids to learn how to drive. When I say young, I mean just big enough to touch the pedals and see over the wheel. Your parents drove in the gate, got down the road some to be out of sight, then they would get out and let you drive to the landfill and back up toward the gate. It was great fun!

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

I love "City Cleanup Week" where everyone puts stuff by the curbside. I drive around with the truck on Monday and grab everything that looks good and spend all week checking them out and toss back the "real garbage" on Friday in the huge dumpsters at the city garage. I have so many good push mowers and snowblowers that I fear NO lawn or snowstorm! I use to go the landfill when I was a kid since my grandpa worked there, I spent hours walking the piles looking for "good stuff" and collecting aluminum, steel, and copper. Hell, last year got 2 huge boxes of Diapers when someones kid out grew them, they didn't even bother to see if someone needed them, just tosses 30$ work out on the curb for cleanup and my daughter gladly used them.

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

It never ceases to amaze me what people will throw away. So much good stuff the the local Salvation Army or Good Will could use for people that need it most.

Then there are the lazy one's who don't, rather won't, drive the 5 - 10 miles to the landfill. They drop it off at the SA or GW, then the volunteers have to spend time and money to take it to the dump.

We live in a really messed up disposable word. What ever happened to fixing instead of replacing?


Darren

Re: Anyone Bring Home Stuff from the Landfill?

My best find was an almost brand-new Weber kettle grill. Looked like it had only been used once. It was perfect timing because I had the exact same model, but ready to fall apart, and I was about to buy a new one.