Dumpster Diving

[Nephasth]

Was walking the dog the other day and saw something sticking out of the neighbor's trash can. $2.50 later (one board to french cleat this thing), and I now have a drink ledge in the game room.



The wife was not too happy to find out where it came from...

[BadMouth]

 

I'm happy you found a shelf, but we're used to stories about cabs or multiple cabs found by the curb.
I'm so disappointed. 

[Le Chuck]

The wife was not too happy to find out where it came from...

Well there's your problem right there.  Honesty.  Noob.

[kahlid74]

The wife was not too happy to find out where it came from...

Well there's your problem right there.  Honesty.  Noob.

The art of deception is required when finding great things in the wild.  The SO must never know of their point of origin least hell shall be set loose.

[Hoopz]

Otherwise you gotta wait for big trash day.  Last time around I got a gigantic original painting of eyeballs and a woman's torso hanging from a hook.

To clarify, the painting had eyeballs and the torso or you scored two distinct items?   

[Well Fed Games]

People throw away good stuff all the time around me. Recently a bike for my daughter was a good find. People also buy big TVs and put the boxes by the road, I can always find uses for big pieces of cardboard. Other than that, I have grabbed (working) PCs, kids toys, books, etc. The big modern bins just came in around here, too, and it did cut down on find-able treasures.

[Nephasth]

I've pulled some good items out of the junk pile at work too (one even went to drventure). Here's the latest. First was a fluorescent light fixture. It flickered when turned on. Two caps for $2 shipped from China and it's good as new!



At our old house I had our Kinect wall mounted. In our new house the TV is in a corner. I made a bracket out of some scrap metal from the junk pile to mount the wall mount to the TV stand. Used the left over paint from my coin doors to make it purdy... (ignore the hideous moose and bear wall paper border).

[SavannahLion]

The big modern bins just came in around here, too, and it did cut down on find-able treasures.

What bins are you talking about? They're locked or something?

[Well Fed Games]

The big modern bins just came in around here, too, and it did cut down on find-able treasures.

What bins are you talking about? They're locked or something?

No, the waste companies provide the trash cans now, they are bigger with hinged lids and designed to be grabbed by an arm on the truck. When everyone had their own can they were a little smaller, so more things ended up "around" the can, and often you could see things sticking out the top. Also, I think there is a fear that if it isn't in the can, the waste management folks won't take it, where before if someone didn't grab it before trash day it would get picked up with the rest of the trash regardless.

[jmike]

Not sure if anyone else has these but in NJ we have bulk day about 3 times a year. You can leave just about anything on the side walk for sanitation to haul away. Last time I came across a MS Pacman arcade (the side art was almost faded away). Saw the owner of the house outside and he said the screen had a blown a fuse or something, there was sound but no picture. I couldn't get anyone with a truck to help me pick it up  . I've since scored an XBOX 360 steering wheel with pedals (fully working) and one of those AK Rocker Gaming chair. future project for a racing cab   

I still think about that Ms Pacman arcade from time to time...

[Turvey]

My name's Kevin and I'm an addict!!!

There, I've said it. 

I work for our local council and service various Civic Amenity Sites as part of my job. It never ceases to amaze and annoy me what people chuck out. However as they say 'One mans trash is another mans treasure' 

I'm typing this through a MS wireless keyboard and mouse to a screenless laptop hooked up to a 32inch TV all salvaged from various sites. Our main computer is also a skip find as is another couple of laptops, at least 3 TVs, an Xbox 360 and 2 PS 2 with various games.

I also like finding older stuff that should really be kept for future generations..

An old enamel advertising sign about 100 years old, not as nice as some of the American oil signs though..



A Tiley lamp from around the 40s/50s complete with glass..



But my favourite piece is a ships torpedo log from around the 1880s. Needs a bit of a cleanup though.


 

[SNAAKE]

I found a carboard box full of random dvds, xbox360 games, xbox 360 which was jtaggable, original xbox, bunch of controllers. it also had a ups label with a girl's name. guessing she threw out her dude's stuff lol..

some of you here own those xboxes btw forgot who

[BadMouth]

Strange coincidence, it's big trash day here on Tuesday.
....must ....resist.  (might have to take a ride around the neighborhood in my pickup.....just to look)

[Drnick]

I'm all up for a bit of dumpster diving from time to time.  Had some nice Office chairs with proper lumbar supports. A Rug, My current Jtagged 360. An old Vax hoover that can suck up rubble so works brilliantly for the router/saw etc. The Oak Bedside table my wife picked up was a good find.  Unfortunately I have never seen an arcade machine at the side of the road or at the tip, but the day I do  

[geomartin]

Used to work next to Safeway super markets IT warehouse a few years back.  They left a pallet of computers and a pallet of monitors outside next to the dumpster one night.  Took them home in my pick up, took three trips.  Everything worked and I started selling on Ebay.  A couple weeks later same thing, so I asked one of the employees and he said they were in the middle of upgrading all the stores and he said I could help myself.  Next week they just started leaving the pallets next to my truck and I filled most of my garage.  It took a while, but I made over 15k selling them.  Unfortunately after a few months the upgrades were finished.

[ChadTower]

It amazes me that so many people crap on Freecycle but love to talk about jumping headfirst into a dumpster that might contain something useful.   

[Well Fed Games]

It amazes me that so many people crap on Freecycle but love to talk about jumping headfirst into a dumpster that might contain something useful.   

Hmm... the one time I checked freecycle locally there wasn't much of value, but I wouldn't dismiss it outright. I think the main difference is CL and Freecycle involve interacting with someone else... trash picking involves no dependance on a stranger keeping their word or being in a certain place at a certain time.

[Vigo]

I recently got an almost new window air conditioner (used for about 2 months) and a nice PC speaker set (for putting in an arcade cab). Both on Freecycle. Just drove to their house and picked it off their porch. All my expensive baby stuff that I need is pretty much from freecycle as well. I think the only major baby item I really bought was a crib mattress, for cleanliness reasons.

I'm not saying I never dumpster dived though...college move out days are the best time for real dumpster diving. An ocean of cool stuff to be had. Hunt down where the rich foreign students live at. The tend to buy a ton of stuff for themselves but cannot haul it all back home. They often just dump everything. I have hauled in a couple barely used video game consoles that way. (Not to mention bought a car from a moving foreign student that had lasted me 7 years without having to take it in to the shop once...only for $700 cash).

[Vigo]

Saw one the other day asking for unused recliner chair and working Flat screen TV above 32" to furnish dorm. 

[hypernova]

Funny story at work.

Another guy found a 360, box and all contents inside our trash compactor.  It had been compacted, but was still visible.  All was relatively undamaged.  Hooked it up on the tv at work, and it works.  DVD drive doesn't work though.  Then we look at the profile names.  Recognize about two of them.

Call up the guy whom I think it belongs to, he says it isn't his.  So I call up a guy whose brother's name is on it (also works at our company), he says it sounds like the first guy's that I called.  I call him back, and he still says it isn't his, then I talk about the profile names, and he starts changing his story by more or less going through his morning actions.  "Well, I threw some stuff away, but I don't think that was in there.  I'm sure of it."

He got lucky.  Like I said, the trash had been compacted, but the 360 box managed to survive with little damage, and the console itself was unscathed.  He just brought it in to have another guy look at it who's dealt with broken 360s check it out and possibly fix it.  He threw some other stuff away, and in his haste didn't realize he left the 360 inside the bigger box that he meant to trash.

[ChadTower]

That's not a very good trash compactor.   

[WhereEaglesDare]

I fixed a 360 my brother dragged out of a trashcan.  Sold it contingent on getting another dead 360 from a friend of his.  Brother died, gave 360 to another friend.  Friends house got broken into and they stole that second system and little else.   I no longer hack 360s.

Really?