The true art of dumpster diving

[spartacus53]

The true art of Dumpster diving arrives from the old saying, 'One mans trash is another mans gold"

That being said I have started my foray into dumpster diving from the professional standpoint. That's right, I said 'professional', as I currently work for a sweeper company cleaning up local malls.

Herein lays the true art; finding the items before they even reach the dumpster

Although I've only been doing this for 6 months, I've come across many interesting finds left behind by some foolish people. Aside from dropped money and jewelery, I have come across tons of hardcover books, an X-Box with controls and a dozen games, bikes and skateboards. These are the items that I would have to have hauled to the dumpster, but they looked so much better sitting on the passenger side of my truck

This is not to mention the items I find in all the store dumpsters too Besides stores throwing out some items there is always a ton of illegal dumping going on and all it takes is a quick peak.

Out of necessity I had to take this job, but then from this job I gained another hobby

You got that right, I'm not proud

 

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[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Spartacus,
you need another hobby.

Sounds like all sorts of opportunities; something different
every day. What you take home is all a bonus of the job.

Enjoy, wonder what the the next big find will be.

have a good un....
SHERMANVILLE

 

[spartacus53]

Sherman, you are so right.. Last week were called to remove 2 units of some sort of generators, or transformers at 600lbs each. The beauty is they are blocks of aluminum, with heavy copper coils wrapped around them. No need to tell you the managers eyes lit up and he will bring them in so we can have a nice party this summer. Already have pulled the copper off, and will weigh it in

Now had that customer realized what he had, he would have made a nice little piece of change

BTW, there are 2 guys that swing by our yard every week for scrap metal that we don't drop off. When they saw these units their eyes lit up, but it was not theirs to have

 

[SHERMANVILLE ILLINOIS]

Like you said, "had that customer realized what he had."

It's all profit that someone could have make some bucks on.

Take Care,

have a good un..........
SHEERMANVILLE

 

[GibH]

When I was 18 I worked at a Base Exchange over in England. I was the custodian, but most of my time was spent in the warehouse. We used to pitch some really good stuff. If ebay had been around then, I would have a healthy retirement fund.

Some of the stuff was new, most were customer returns. We would have to break the item or cut a cord off before pitching it. Such a waste....

 

[spartacus53]

GibH, yes... The next best place to work is a warehouse, where some freight is abandoned and could fetch a quick buck. I also used to come across freight that was marked to be destroyed, mostly made up of counterfeit goodies. You don't want to get nabbed pinching them, U.S. customs is all over that product

 

[PYRATE]

Almost every large corporation has equipment or materials which they don't want, but can't sell or throw out because of rules and/or paperwork hassles so if you have a good friend at a large company they might be able to help you obtain some valuable scrap metal.

Many of those things rotting in warehouses or boneyards are there because they cannot be simply thrown away because of hazmat issues with solder, galvanizing, paint, hydraulic fluid, oil and other extremely common materials which aren't truly "hazmat" in the classic sense of the word. (The "proper" disposal methods are expensive & would blow someone's budget and possibly affect their annual bonus)

Selling often isn't an option because of accounting procedures, ie. if you sell an asset which has been completely depreciated or if you sell an item which has been "consumed" the accountants will be thrown into a panic state, several meetings will ensue, vice presidents will develop action plans and ultimately hundreds of man hours (properly billed internally @ $65/hr.) will be spent trying to fix problems created by an opportunistic employee who tried to help the company's bottom line.

It is so much easier to just let a friend come by with a truck.

 

[lost]

The True art of dumpster diving

About 12 years ago I took my Doberman to her Vet. While waiting I walked her around the parking lot, saw a dumpster and couldn't resist a peak. After thinking this move over and expecting to find dead animals, or parts I open the lid. Found 4 mounted deer mounts laying on top of black plastic trash bags. Beautiful mounts. Real quality. All eight points. Thought carefully, do I really want these things? Made a good decision. Closed the lid and later notified the Vet what was in his dumpster. He said, "Good Grief. you'd be amazed what we find in that thing." He didn't want them either.

On a more positive note, once at our county dump I noticed a closed brief case laying mid way down in one of the big truck size dumpsters we back up to. Couldn't get it with out really dumpster diving. Walked over to a landscape truck dumping brush and borrowed a pitchfork. Came back and eventually snagged the case. By that time I'd drawn a crowd of 6 or 8 people, all I'm sure waiting for me to plunge into the garbage. The brief case was filled side to side with religious cassette tapes, all music. After opening it he crowd scattered like I'd I'd found a dead skunk. But, I knew just the fellow to give them to. He was happy like Xmas. A serious yard sale seller. He got a lot of items for nothing. I can't resist looking in a dumpster but lately I'm finding them locked.

 

[bazinga]

Found 4 mounted deer mounts laying on top of black plastic trash bags. Beautiful mounts. Real quality. All eight points. Thought carefully, do I really want these things? Made a good decision. Closed the lid and later notified the Vet what was in his dumpster. He said, "Good Grief. you'd be amazed what we find in that thing." He didn't want them either.

That was dumb. You left anywhere from $200-$500 in that dumpster.

 

[lost]

bazinga...should have mentioned money crossed my mind when I first saw the deer head mounts. Then I thought some disgruntled wife dumped the mounts. In a town with a population of 392, did I really want to bring these things back into the light of day and possibly getting involved in something serious? Al-tho, I will admit around 12 or more years has gone by and I've never heard who lost the mounts. Odd for a small town.

 

[spartacus53]

Well I have just learned the best place for freebies is behind some of these stores. Yup, you have to love Home Depot, Lowes and the rest of them for leaving goodies to be picked for free. You will find many, oft times pricey goods that are dumped by the store due to some sort of damage, i.e. scratches, dents, small fractures. It's nothing to bring them back and have a nice piece for free. My friend alerted me to this last week after picking up a nice gas grill..

 

[AC1955]

"Smile" you are being videotaped at most, if not all, the large box stores (Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.), dumpster areas/shipping docks. These are considered private property and the items, even if it looks like they are being tossed into trash are still property of the store. Am I understanding that you "dive" the rejects, then bring them back to the store for new one or gift card? Sweet if it works, but eventually it will catch up to you. Someone at the store knows what they've tossed and if they see the same item coming back into the return desk, it won't be long before the videotapes are pulled. JMHO so please don't dump on me. Don't like to see anyone get into trouble.

I am a long time dumpster diver but would never risk diving at a store. So many of our local dumpsters are now locked and marked with do not trespass signs. The good old days are gone.

 

[spartacus53]

AC1955, I appreciate your input, but in my circumstance we're OK.. I am hired by the property manager to make sure these sites are clean, and yes, we will remove anything that doesn't belong. If the stores have a problem, they will address it with the property manager who will probably tell them tough luck For some of the larger items, we will notify the property manager and give him a cost for removal too.

 

[spartacus53]

This week I found a PS1 with 15 working games.... I know I can dump the unit and games easily for $25 to someone that doesn't have a lot to spend and still get a good return on that investment