Goverment Dumpster diving

[Rogerv]

Back in the late 80's while working at US Customs I witnessed them throwing away $4+ million dollars worth of brand new computers,Printers,electronic test gear and tools and more brand new in the boxes because they decided to cancel a planed project. I asked why not donate it to schools and was told it was too much paperwork and it was easier to write it off so they could get it and more money in their new budget. So I saw 4 large construction dumpsters heading for the landfill. This is just everyday occurrence Government waist of our taxpayers money. If I had owned a vacant lot I would have paid the trash company to dump it there and have made a fortune.

 

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[DFW_THer]

 

[GibH]

Government dumpster diving = federal hoosegow.

 

[Peyton Manning]

ohhh for the lost bitcoins!

 

[kingskid1611]

I live in Oklahoma and we have brand new buried in the ground dozers and large dump trucks from a government waste canceled project.....happens more than you think.

 

[Loco-Digger]

Ft. Meade MD was my supporting installation back in the late 80's and early 90's. I saw them installing a new roofs that were contracted years before, on buildings that were set for demo. Sometimes the red tape tends to be too much for common sense. I always thought they should have paid the contractor a fraction of the money and have them do nothing, rather than reroof buildings that were to be demolished. The positive side is that the employees of the vendor drew some pay checks while installing the roofs.

 

[austin]

Amazing, just amazing.

 

[FISHEYE]

Several years ago I made around 30k from brand new in the box discarded HHP bar code scanners and erickson wireless modems from a US postal engineering center dumpster located in the wash dc area that a friend got all the stuff and shipped it to me to sell.I sold half of them back to HHP and sold the rest locally.There was a security guard there and my friend bribed him with duncan donuts that he found in their dumpster.I asked him if there was ants on the donuts an he said he just wipes them off.Then he goes inside and asks for a new box to put the donuts in.regardless the security guard was happy to get them and let my friend clean out the dumpster.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I think that head pencil pushers would object to anyone dumpster diving to get goodies like this. Because it would only raise red flags of "waste" (and tax-payer outrage).

Example: At my streetsweeper company, we were doing one of our jobs once, at the local electrical utility corporate yards. I spotted a bunch of glass insulators (the type that used to be on the old time telephone poles) in a dumpster. So I made mental note that when I was going to be done working, I'd swing back by that dumpster, and pick up some of them. Thought maybe they'd fetch some $$ at the flea market, or look good in my back-yard as decoration, etc....

So when our company finished our job there, and was checking out with the yard supervisor, I remembered the insulators in the dumpster. I tell him: "I noticed such & such in the dumpster. Is it ok if I grab a box of them on my way out ?" To which he replied "no". At first I thought he mis-understood the question, because how can he object IF THEY'RE JUST GOING TO THROW THEM AWAY ?? But he repeated: "no".

I later came to find out they are obligated to give that answer, because otherwise:

a) If there were financial profit on my end, it could be considered "favoritism" to one vendor over another, blah blah.

b) if people from the public found out that the utility co was throwing out stuff that had value (could be sold at profit, etc...), then the public can get irritated at rate-payer waste of money .

That was one of my early moment's in life of learning "don't ask silly questions, and just do it". Because odds are, if I'd just stopped the dumpster and fished them out, NO ONE WOULD HAVE CARED LESS. Their answer was just the obligatory "because you asked" type answer. Doh!

 

[Red James Cash]

Government dumpster diving = federal hoosegow.

Not to mention the gov piles of over flowing B.S you have to wade through,hint,wear a full body suit

 

[cyberdan]

.......for a new box to put the donuts in.regardless the security guard was happy to get them and let my friend clean out the dumpster.

was this the security guard?

 

[FriscoT06]

So sad.

 

[Rich in Houston]

Sickining..

 

[QMaze]

A bit of a twist but kinda related. I grew up in a army family and as a young kid the base we lived on had 2 dumps, one for trash and one for reuse. So I can remenber my dad taking me there and finding toys to take home, it was a pretty cool thing. The opposite.

 

[A2coins]

ov throwing money away I don't believe it !!!!!!!!!

 

[kcm]

When I was in the USAF (Fire Protection) back in the '80's, our supply officer was throwing out all sorts of mostly-new/unused gear, tools, and office products. Me and another guy asked him why? He said they had been in the supply closet (large fenced-in area within the fire station) so long that he had to get rid of it. He explained it this way: Every year they get X amount of $$'s in their budget. And every year, they have to use ALL of that money, or their budget will get cut the following year. Doesn't matter if there was a lull or not, or whether for some reason there is a sudden need for extra funds, they only get what's in the budget. So in order to keep the "In Excess" budget that they currently had, they couldn't have all of that "stuff" in the supply closet. Therefore, into the dumpster it went!!

...I still have the 2 brand new, never used fire helmets that he let me have. Wish I could have talked him out of more, but just that little bit was really scaring him, so I didn't push my luck. Btw, one is red and the other yellow.

 

[unclemac]

dollars are round so that they'll roll...government waste keeps a lot of people employed...

 

[boogeyman]

When I was in, we were getting a warehouse squared away for an inspection by the big wigs with a rumor of the CMC showing up. Well, while moving rows of embarkation boxes to repaint lines on the floor we discovered over 250 typewriters! All neatly stacked between the wall & a row of boxes. After researching 3 days for docs on them with no success my OIC told me to chuck them in the dempsy dumpster. So, everyone in the unit got a typewriter upgrade and half of what we chucked disappeared. Didn't matter to the brass as long as the books jived!

For any of you old dogs, or anyone interested, out where the old stables were at El Toro there's a series of trenches at least 20 - 25' deep x 100 or 200' long full of everything from wall lockers to resistors buried. This was between the old MAG11 gate & the stables.

Yup! Doesn't matter the cost as long as the numbers match!

 

[boogeyman]

When I was in, we were getting a warehouse squared away for an inspection by the big wigs with a rumor of the CMC showing up. Well, while moving rows of embarkation boxes to repaint lines on the floor we discovered over 250 typewriters! All neatly stacked between the wall & a row of boxes. After researching 3 days for docs on them with no success my OIC told me to chuck them in the dempsy dumpster. So, everyone in the unit got a typewriter upgrade and half of what we chucked disappeared. Didn't matter to the brass as long as the books jived!

For any of you old dogs, or anyone interested, out where the old stables were at El Toro there's a series of trenches at least 20 - 25' deep x 100 or 200' long full of everything from wall lockers to resistors buried. This was between the old MAG11 gate & the stables.

Yup! Doesn't matter the cost as long as the numbers match!

Oh! gotta make sure your DD248 six part is filled out properly with ALL typing centered top & bottom!

 

[billn1956]

Most will not believe me.But I am sure others have seen the same thing..At 2 posts I was on I got to see weapons buried in the weapons storage areas. I live close to one that is closed for a good part and some still used for training .The rest is going to the local government and being developed .I am watching the area I am interested in.