So I have had a question on my mind for some time now.
Near my home is a recycling center that has an area specifically for electronics. It's on a city yard where the trucks and road improvement goods are kept. It belongs to an organization which collects the stuff and ships it out for scrap/dismantling. I visit it now and then whenever I have TV's/batteries/e-waste that I can't do anything with. Often, there is a multitude of stuff and sometimes it is very nice items. Flat TV's, stereos, computer parts, speakers, tapes, CD's, DVD's, and other items that could be given a better life than ending up in bulk scrap.
It's an unattended center. However, there is an eye in the sky that watches for "scavengers." There are bad apples that visit it. I have walked in many times to witness cords hacked off of stuff, tube TV's smashed open with hammers, and items smashed just for the sake of being destroyed. Typical behaviors of stuff you see on the curb. I have also seen visitors load their cars with microwaves and computer towers presumably for scrap.
There is a "no scavenging" sign present, but it would seem few adhere it based on my witnessed accounts.
I understand that cities get some funds from having these bins in place, but I haven't a clue how much. My guess is that it cannot be a huge amount as I believe it all gets categorized as generic e-waste (if anyone knows how it is priced out for cities, please let me know. I'm curious). Plus, this thing fills up quickly. I also don't see how a few small items could detract much from the city's portion. Also, I have no idea what the legal consequences would be if one were to catch you taking items from there.
I'd like to know from rest of you- what do you think of this situation? What could you be charged with if you did take something from there? Theft? Trespassing? How would they determine the item's value? Would the city be looking for someone who took a large volume of stuff (i.e. computers and microwaves) or go after someone taking one small item? Would you take items from there that you thought were desirable? What's your definition of a "scavenger?"
Look...I get it. Recycling is meant to be a business and that is why there are regulations against bins at the curb. In law, taking anything that isn't yours would be considered "stealing." What could actually happen though?
***Not looking for support or approval of illegal activities.*** Not looking to use the place as a "honey hole" for scrap. Just looking for your opinions or factual stories about such a place and what you might do if staring you in the face is something super nice that you could reuse. If you have a story about a recycling center or know the details about the operations of one, please share. I'm interested in reading what the rest of you think about this situation.
Thanks!
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