Curb Co. Finds Today

I was out scrapping in advance of our local rubbish pickup and got the following in a few hours:

1) Nice pair of Bushnell binoculars (a plastic cap for one of the lenses is missing- otherwise like new)
2) Only about a block away- found a telescope (only a couple screws missing) (I haven't found any binoculars or telescopes all summer and now I find both just a few houses apart from each other)
3) Heavy brass chandelier (about 30-40#)- tacky looking- from a house being remodeled- definitely non-ferrous
4) Decent amount of extruded aluminum
5) Wire racks from someone's custom closets
6) Honeywell HEPA air filter/cleaner (seems to work just fine)
7) Nice duffel bag
8) Lancome brand bag- oh yeah, it had a $10 bill inside
9) Great looking sink and pedestal (looks absolutely brand new- maybe the owner wanted a different brand)
10) Brand new iron
11) A pair of SONY stereo speakers (about 15" high)
12) And the usual- wire (lots of Romex), light bulbs, aluminum cans, ceiling fan, etc.

Man, if I could get into the gated communities, that would really be amazing.

Sounds Great...but you know the rule...No pictures, then it never happened...:cool:

I don't know what "our local rubbish pickup" is if that's just eye-balling trash that people put out for pick-up or if you're actually talking about some centralized location that you can go through, but I do think "curb co" varies by regional and socio-economic geographies.

In my bedroom town (somewhere around 10,000) in the western Midwest, I did curb co every Monday morn for a couple of years for an hour or so from about 0545 through maybe 0700 if it went that long. It was about a 17 mile route that I did to cover most of the town. I certainly found some stuff sitting next to trash cans or sticking out of them but never to the quality that you've described on a daily basis or what I've seen in videos. I think people in my metro aren't inclined to throw much good stuff away. Things generally have to be pretty much broken down or worthless for people around here to toss. Thre's maybe a population density at play as well. The more people, the more stuff in a given amount of ground. I'm not doubting that some of you find gobs of good stuff, even on a very limited part-time basis, only that places can be different.

Sorry, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

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Originally Posted by DakotaRog

I don't know what "our local rubbish pickup" is if that's just eye-balling trash that people put out for pick-up or if you're actually talking about some centralized location that you can go through, but I do think "curb co" varies by regional and socio-economic geographies.

In my bedroom town (somewhere around 10,000) in the western Midwest, I did curb co every Monday morn for a couple of years for an hour or so from about 0545 through maybe 0700 if it went that long. It was about a 17 mile route that I did to cover most of the town. I certainly found some stuff sitting next to trash cans or sticking out of them but never to the quality that you've described on a daily basis or what I've seen in videos. I think people in my metro aren't inclined to throw much good stuff away. Things generally have to be pretty much broken down or worthless for people around here to toss. Thre's maybe a population density at play as well. The more people, the more stuff in a given amount of ground. I'm not doubting that some of you find gobs of good stuff, even on a very limited part-time basis, only that places can be different.

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I think you've got a good point about more rural areas. I bet lots of farmers, for instance, are also mechanics and have lots of other skills. In large metro areas that would be quite unusual, not the norm.

I've often wondered what it would be like scrapping when you have to drive 50-100 miles each way to the nearest scrap yard.

recylersteve- Patriot76 would be a great example of scrapping in rural areas. His closest scrap yard is at least 40-60 miles away. I live in a metro area but its smaller when compared to many others. The population density also drops off quite dramatically when you get out of the metro area whereas there are regions of the country where even the rural areas have a lot of people (mostly non-farmers) living there and thrown out stuff is about. My point is that there are also cultural differences across the country where in some regions people easily throw good stuff away and in other places things are held onto tight or given to charity. I have never, ever seen brass stuff left on curb co or only rarely on CL's "free" stuff. Brass nick-nacks around here are almost always given to Goodwill or something similar and of course those places sell it for above scrap prices.

Anyway, keep on keeping on and finding that good stuff. I need to head out to my 9-530 full-time gig.

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Originally Posted by recyclersteve

Sorry, but you'll just have to take my word for it.

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Why no pics?

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Originally Posted by mikeinreco

Why no pics?

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Privacy? Some people prefer to remain somewhat anonymous - notice there isn't anything for location on his profile either besides "United States".

It's Shoulder Co. here no sidewalks or stoplights in this town :lol:
3 smashed up Al extension ladders 2 15' and a 20' at the end of a driveway got a turn around today.

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Originally Posted by SKWrapper

Privacy? Some people prefer to remain somewhat anonymous - notice there isn't anything for location on his profile either besides "United States".

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I doubt it's a privacy issue, especially after his post the other day about being listed as #1 in a bing search. He may just not want to post pics.

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Originally Posted by DakotaRog

I don't know what "our local rubbish pickup" is if that's just eye-balling trash that people put out for pick-up or if you're actually talking about some centralized location that you can go through, but I do think "curb co" varies by regional and socio-economic geographies.

In my bedroom town (somewhere around 10,000) in the western Midwest, I did curb co every Monday morn for a couple of years for an hour or so from about 0545 through maybe 0700 if it went that long. It was about a 17 mile route that I did to cover most of the town. I certainly found some stuff sitting next to trash cans or sticking out of them but never to the quality that you've described on a daily basis or what I've seen in videos. I think people in my metro aren't inclined to throw much good stuff away. Things generally have to be pretty much broken down or worthless for people around here to toss. Thre's maybe a population density at play as well. The more people, the more stuff in a given amount of ground. I'm not doubting that some of you find gobs of good stuff, even on a very limited part-time basis, only that places can be different.

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This is just trash that people put out by the curb for the regular pickup- next to tree branches, clippings, etc.

Oh yeah, I left out a potential whopper of a find that I did NOT pick up. I saw a BBQ, not just any old BBQ, but a nice looking one by a company called Grand Tierra that had 9 burners. Looked nice on the outside. Maybe a burner or two wasn't working, but that still leaves plenty more burners. I couldn't find any 9 burner ones for sale, but saw that 7 burners versions like this were going for about $3,500 at a local retailer of such items.

It weighed probably 250-300 pounds. I didn't want to tip it sideways in the back of my car. There was nobody around to help me lift it at 3am. Maybe it was a piece of junk inside- maybe it only needed 1 or 2 parts. Who knows? My loss.

Someone behind me may have gotten the find of a lifetime.