Quote Originally Posted by Ditchdigger View Post
I don't live within the City of Pittsburgh, but because I knew where to find it online, Pittsburgh's regulation about removing anything from regular trash collection:


http://library4.municode.com/default.../48#0-0-0-2445





(Bold and underline added)

So, in Pittsburgh, you're not allowed to garbage pick, unless you've knocked on the door and gotten permission. Your jurisdiction may differ...
And here I could have summed it up in a couple of sentences. Every town around here has something like that...give or take. Same with other towns I have lived in for brief stints, around the country. I should naturally assume it were the same story anywhere else. A couple of area towns have gone so far as to BECOME the competition, as in the city itself sells scrap from trash for profit.

If everyone posting in this thread is offering the defense that this is not the way it is where you are, then so be it, more power to you, and I wish I could say the same.

Y'all can surely see why I would only use the term "dumpster diver" in a derogatory fashion, and only in refernce to criminals who would not hesitate to steal whatever else they saw fit to.

My dad's dead water heater, which is initially what set me off here, was ON HIS PROPERTY, by the gate at the alley, next to his dumpster, INSIDE his fence. These "dumpster divers" are jumping fences, skulking up to back doors, trespassing and stealing, mostly late at night. And folks here saying there is nothing wrong or illegal about that just blew my fragile little mind.

Mick...that is also allowed most anywhere around here, to some degree anyway, and is sometimes a nice score. Generally has to be on the property owner's side of devil's strip. The sign negates the trespassing aspect, as it is an open invitation.