scrap buckets

this is probably not an original idea but thought it was worth mentioning. i live in a small town with no sidewalk pickup no dumpsters and no pickin at the dump so my pickups come mostly talking to people. i have aquired a lot of 35 gallon trash buckets on my way (now i use large stackable crates) so i decided to paint them and put " metal and electronics" on the side as well as my phone number. the town over from me is a big ski resort town with many many hotels and motels all of which have a maintenance department. see where i'm going with this. most family run places took them no problem after a short talk with the owner and head maintenance supervisor letting them know what i'm looking for. some of the larger chain hotels took them with a little persuading that it will save them money and they can put "green company" on there name as far as waste is considered. the only places that wouldn't even talk to me were high end places that were and i quote "too good for the likes of garbage pickers" ohhh was i mad but kept my cool and went on my way i am currently up to 25 buckets and i usually pick up once a week and i can barley keep up with the mass influx now that ski season is in full swing and the places are packed. i have made a lot of good friends in all those maintenance departments and they usually give me hints on upcoming projects or something i might be interested in. guess in a nutshell for $5 in paint and some free buckets im pulling in 500 twice a month and have 5 mason jars full of gold pins from computers (which i prosses myself). my scrapyard knows me personaly now and the stock pile is growing nicely for the "mud season"
Life is Good!

cool deal! Good too that you didn't lose your cool there. As time goes by, you might find the guys who run the motels where you're at, are friends/golfing buddies/etc with the ones who didn't care to talk to you now. That "green" thing was a great idea too, and could well be another point to eventually bring the others around

Great Idea! I kind of do this but I did it in a smaller way since I am not old enough to drive. Here is what I did, I ordered 20 Recycling bins on ebay, and gave them out to my neighbors who wanted them, they would place there soda cans, cooking cans , old electronics, and metals. every week I would go around picking it up and bringing it home. I have gained much scrap metal and cans from this, but I no longer do this because I no longer collect cans due to how much they attract ants and people don't just generate old electronics once a week, so I decided to stop giving out recycling bins, but after the end I pretty much cut even after the cost of the bins, and how much I made.

thanks bear i am hoping to get into the high end market 5-15 million dollar homes need a lot of maintenance and are full of high quality goods that will be replaced more than fixed! ohh i can hardly wait i see their copper roofing and fixture and gutters and lights and just stand their drooling probably why they don't want me around lol!

Quote:

---

guess in a nutshell for $5 in paint and some free buckets im pulling in 500 twice a month and have 5 mason jars full of gold pins from computers (which i process myself)

---

Are you part of the Gold Refining Forum??

Whereabouts in NH. My family likes to vacation there quite regularly.

That's a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing it.

2 ways to get companies/businesses to "think green".
#1: You're idea can't cost them money. Plain and simple. If it does, they will not bite.
#2: You're idea must either save them money or make them money. If it does either, they will bite.
They want to be able to say they are a "green company". They want to advertise they "care about our environment". That they are "doing their part to save our planet". But the truth is the only green that speaks to them is the "green" they put in the bank.

i'm in grafton county close to waterville and loon mnt ski areas. i am currently not on the gold refining forum i could help anyone out that wants it. I usually wait till i have at least 4 or 5 pounds of gold scrap till i process it.

Filled up the old ranger today and there was about 25 pairs of broken ski poles in one and every maintenance shop had a least one used plow blade.Gotta love them plow blades stack real nice but some need to be cut in half which could be a bit difficult as i don't have a torch.

Quote:

---

"too good for the likes of garbage pickers"

---

Spoken like a true Massho**. :rolleyes:

Good to have a granite stater here. I did a 5 year stint up in Manchvegas. Flatlander, I know, but it was a decent little city and an easy drive out to the coast. NH rocks.

lol NH rocks literally I work a landscaping job in the summer and dig out 1 giant rock for every 6 scoops of a shovel! found some nice geodes and some semi precious gemstones in the process though i'm still waiting to pull up that giant gold nugget;) but until then i keep on digging!

Gah, wish I had seen this before I posted in the other thread NH. LOL...but yea, this idea works people. I do it here on my sandbar.

I don't get ski poles..but you'll get lots of goodies from the hotel/motel industry if you can get a in. NHscrapman has it right though the high end hotels will look down on you, but the mid and even some big chains will love you for the service. The million dollar home owners, lest in my neck of the woods, (Corolla & Duck) some are receptive some aren't. Once you mention saving them money, and the benefits to the local environment, it does get them to think twice.

Fun things you can get from a hotel/motel:
TVs, Radios, electric face plates, ironing boards, irons, broken tools, old ACs, old door locks (card reader type), Furniture, mini-fridges (some even stainless!), microwaves, old parts and supplies, phones, and many other things depending on the hotel/motel.

Good Post NHscrapman.


Sirscrapalot - Nothing like a call to pick up 'some' microwaves and it turns out they replaced every unit in every room...and its all yours.

I have been recently pushing a few of the restraunts in my area to take some of these buckets but most say they don't make enough material to take the buckets but one. This place has been around a while 30+ years and has a stockpile of old rusty kitchen equipment I am currently talking to the owner but if he lets me take the junk and not the things that can be resold i'm thinking at least 4 or 5 truckloads! i was only up there for a few minutes because the guy who showed me was busy and i didn't want to bother him but i saw all kinds of goodies a lot of old grills 4 or 5 slicers some sinks and an old ice machine that must weigh 500 lbs and small stuff like boxes full of rusty tray stands and old sheet pans broken aluminum racks the list goes on and on. I should have this deal worked out in a week and if it goes through i will put some pics up of the rusty gold! Multi trip day here i come!!!!

Be sure to check out if there are any salvageable parts in the equipment you take away. It's sometimes easier for me to sell of parts of something than the entire unit...no matter what it is. New commercial restaurant parts cost an arm and a leg from the manufacturer.

you said for the mud season? You mean as in mudding with a mud truck?

yes i go mudding and rock crawling with a few buddys in there trucks but i don't own one of my own. Mud season up in the mountains of NH is the time of year when the snow melts and nothing is growing so there is nothing but mud everywhere. our local economy is highly tourist driven and there is only the local population around, 600 compared to 4500+ during ski season, maple season is over and most people are waiting for spring clean up trust me if you walk in your lawn you can feel the ground sinking under your feet everything is saturated and nothing can get done unless your on pavement which there is very little of. It usually last a few weeks and I find it's a great time to hit the stock pile and rip things apart, also start seeds for the garden or other things I have put off for to long always busy here bonafied workaholic!

That is an unbelieveably awesome idea!! Great work!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NHscrapman

lol NH rocks literally I work a landscaping job in the summer and dig out 1 giant rock for every 6 scoops of a shovel! found some nice geodes and some semi precious gemstones in the process though i'm still waiting to pull up that giant gold nugget;) but until then i keep on digging!

---

You mean like this one?

http://i1172.photobucket.com/albums/...ps643a322b.jpg

I am sorry i just couldnt help myself.

:) :) :)

Don't I wish!! that is what I would call a retirement nugget:D

Well the deal is good and I have a few pics to put up. Got to get some friends together and definetly get some beers for afterwards. All these items are in a second story store room and have to go through a minimum of three doors and down a freight elevator the big things should be interesting to say the least. I don't think my scrap buckets would have worked here I need a dumptruck and my tractor!
http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps389a1890.jpg
Three bain sink two grills and a slicer

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps26a4e712.jpg
4 more slicers a ban saw my new scale on top various kitchen equipment

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps25977eb7.jpg

a burner two more grills various shelving and a coffe maker

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3b4b98a4.jpg
this old hog of an ice machine.

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps83b34dca.jpg
And his big brother!!

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps2eca6a28.jpg
various shelving mostly AL some stainless

This is going to be the haul of my lifetime. definetly the most by weight some items will come home to get dissasembled but most will be straight to the yard turn around and get another load. there is a lot more here than pictured and it will probably be a few days of work. can't wait to get started the boss man said after st patricks day I could start. I am assuming they are busy for the weekend but thats fine with me i need to get a game plan together for this one and call a few buddys with promises of beer and food afterward maybe a lobster boil on one of those burners if i can get it to work!!!

i don"t know how you got free buckets but i have the landscape debris buckets with my name printed on them you can get those or robo cans printed in 50 ct quantityes for $29.95 each it works but my accts destroy them

A lot of my buckets came from cleaning out barns sheds and helping people move. I always saved them and ended up with quite a few use some for scrap and still had a couple of stacks left so I thought I would put them to good use. instead of getting buckets printed, which i'm sure looks a little more professional, I made a simple cardboard template. After a fresh coat of paint I used the template to put name,number,metal/ewaste. I have been doing this for a little while now and noticed a few buckets have been slightly damaged but it is to be expected.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NHscrapman

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/...ps389a1890.jpg
Three bain sink two grills and a slicer

---

Even not working the meat slicers are definitely worth more than scrap.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Libertytow

i don"t know how you got free buckets but i have the landscape debris buckets with my name printed on them you can get those or robo cans printed in 50 ct quantityes for $29.95 each it works but my accts destroy them

---

Could you IM me with a link to this site?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sirscrapalot

Sirscrapalot - Nothing like a call to pick up 'some' microwaves and it turns out they replaced every unit in every room...and its all yours.

---

Not Microwaves:(
EVEN BETTER!
every shower door and frame (extrude AL) every bed frame (better than scrap angle iron) and every curtain rod ( 6 ft extrude AL)... only 140 more rooms to go :)