proper behavior for trash hunting

Proper behavior is the most important aspect for scrapers. We represent us all , one bad egg can hurt all of us.

always drive slow and safe.
when people get to know your truck give a wave and a smile it cost nothing .
Never make a mess NEVER !!
I always carry singles ( $1.00 ) with me as i often might pay as a gesture. A $1 goes along way to create good will.
Scrapers have phones cars and in general good morals ,if there is a problem we might be first to call the police.Lets face it we patrol the streets for treats ,But always be ready to be a good Samaritan.
We need to have same respect as a DR or Lawyer as when we hunt we are around
peoples private maters there garbage. so respect.
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If trash hunters
speed , make street un safe , mess up streets or just rude to people . we will loose the privilege to pick.

Thank you for taking the time to remind us of these things copperhead. I live in a rural area, so I rarely encounter anyone...but when I do I try to observe all the things you mentioned. A smile goes a long way. Thanks again.

I live in rural area but am surrounded by plenty of suburbs. A few times i had people complain to me as some one else made a mess & i had to take heat for it.
You get the wild ones taking the large stuff and rummaging they zip around with like 10 feet tall of stuff - wild !! .
The cord cutters are stealth I know there out there but i never see them.
Then here i am fine tuning, looking for what every one has missed or does not want (but i find some bones also)
there's some thing for every one.

I picked up a BBQ the other day. Didn't realize till I got home, that the regulator had been cut off. lol, who does that? The entire grill is worth money. It had hornets in it though. Maybe that's why they took what they could and moved along.

More for me! :)

Idaho
Some times i feel that's the beauty of it all , some people only want brass or cords they realize the other value .
It's called sharing the wealth. As i collect some times i'll leave a piece or two for the next guy . I have shared my finds as others have with me . I'll never take bots or cans , It's a true community of cooperation

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Originally Posted by Copper Head

Idaho
Some times i feel that's the beauty of it all , some people only want brass or cords they realize the other value .
It's called sharing the wealth. As i collect some times i'll leave a piece or two for the next guy . I have shared my finds as others have with me . I'll never take bots or cans , It's a true community of cooperation

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I've got a guy that dives my condo's dumpsters for can's. One day I was out walking my mutt and talked to him. We worked out a deal, he brings me the computer's he finds, I pay him for them either in cash or my beer cans if I have a couple bags full.

He never makes a mess, and the dumpster areas are always cleaner than when he showed up. If you're gonna be a dumpster diver that's the way to do it.

It comes down to respect. I try to show my respect for everyone by leaving things a bit better than before.

Old thread, but on the subject of "sharing the wealth"... it's something that I've been trying to do lately. There's a guy that comes to the dumpster at my apartment every week to pick the metal out. When I tear apart a computer, I usually leave the steel cases next to the dumpster for him (I don't have a truck to haul it all off). I've never met him, but I'm sure he's grateful for not having to dive in the dumpster.

One of the times I dumsptered dive it was for a few hundred lbs of wire (not realizing at the time it was worthless).

One of the workers came out and I had their trash every where. I told the guy not to worry that I would clean it up.

Sure enough he came out again as I was done cleaning up, and told me I could come back anytime, but after finding out that hour was worthless, I didnt/.

I always respect people , using a sir or mame goes a long way

I actually got in a full on fist fight with a homeless dude pushing a cart over cans. Now I rarely go canning. I live in a large college town so on Holiday weekends I'll give it a go, but otherwise no. I let them be for a few guys I know on my trash route who push carts on foot. Fine by me. I'm sitting there on that day, taking apart one of those stupid octopus lamps and the minute I turn my back he's taking cans out of the back of my truck. They weren't even dumpster finds, they were my own beverage cans I toss in the back when driving down the road after a refreshing drink. I tell him to stop or at the very least try asking and then here come the punches. The cops were called and everything. People are strange.

I think the introductory post on this thread is awesome though. So many times people forget themselves out and about on their routes. No one stops to make connections or network and people are in a rush just because of the social stigma of scrapping and they think metal is going to magically dry up. People just don't take the time to realize we're all out there trying to earn. It's kinda sad and a bad caste system judgement. Good post.

I always do my best and whenever talking to someone selling me scrap or giving it to me I always refer to them as sir or mam.

Thing that kills me is the darn tweeker scrappers that go around at night looking for television sets that are sit out on junk night. I see the aftermath of where they take a hammer and bust open the back to quickly get that copper around the yoke. I guess they don't know about the thick cable and all the extra little goodies on the inside.

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Originally Posted by TheFatMan

I actually got in a full on fist fight with a homeless dude pushing a cart over cans. Now I rarely go canning. I live in a large college town so on Holiday weekends I'll give it a go, but otherwise no. I let them be for a few guys I know on my trash route who push carts on foot. Fine by me. I'm sitting there on that day, taking apart one of those stupid octopus lamps and the minute I turn my back he's taking cans out of the back of my truck. They weren't even dumpster finds, they were my own beverage cans I toss in the back when driving down the road after a refreshing drink. I tell him to stop or at the very least try asking and then here come the punches. The cops were called and everything. People are strange.

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No respect at all sounds like to me.

He could have asked what you were planning to do with them.

one time...I gave a homeless guy a cold soda and a snack...he open the snack and eat it....opened the soda and dumped it out and then crushed it an put it into his can bag...I was like wtf?!

I always smile and wave at folks when driving and most on my regular route know my truck now and wave first lol. If I come across something at the street I always look to see if someone is out or knock and then ask. If they say yes I say thank you and I've shaken quite a few hands too. I've had ppl help me load or even tell me to stay in the truck and they toss something in for me!! I also carry singles and have offered many times if I pick up a large load, only once has someone taken a couple bucks. Tonight a guy said no problem take the chair and toss the bag that was sitting on it on the ground but I put it on the can that was out. I absolutely HATE when I drive past a garbage load that you can tell was gone through by ppl but looked like it was done by animals it was such a mess, there is no need for that at all. If I'm out driving streets I try to keep the back of my truck as neat as possible so as not to look unprofessional and pull over once in a while to straighten up.

TheFatMan- wowza!

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Originally Posted by easyrecycle

one time...I gave a homeless guy a cold soda and a snack...he open the snack and eat it....opened the soda and dumped it out and then crushed it an put it into his can bag...I was like wtf?!

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I would have drank the soda first....guess he didn't want to waste time on collecting more cans, by drinking the soda lol.

Some people don't think in the norm, he should for all logic eaten the food
On the subject of TV Tweak Well I have two ways I do it. One is to take them home and deal later. Two is to carefully take apart remove all goodies on sight ,then put cover back with screws THAT'S gotta be the way. If TV Tweaks continue to make a mess, it will hurt us all period.
Catfish Bob "all the extra little goodies on the inside" People in the know - do know - Let the others figure it on there own in good time

I've never dismantled something at the street but I've seen parst left where I know its been done. I dunno, it just feels weird to me to break something down where I find it.

i don't pick up tv's or crt's... too much time / effort / garbage for me to dismantle...
but one time i was going through a pile on garbage night, and moved a tv to right next to the pile so i could dig through the boxes - it was a good pile for diggin, believe me - but as i pulled away i noticed a car was following me... i went down a road and made a u-turn and the car tries blocking me in and i see some woman on a cell phone. "can i help you?" i say "you'd better not going any where cause i have the police looking for you, you dumped that sh*t tv on my lawn"... my reply "uh i was taking stuff out of the pile, not dumping it there, and i left the tv on the side of the road right against the pile, not on your lawn"....she is irrational and insane so i speed off (cause my licence is currently suspended unless i am working...which is part of the reason i'm out collecting garbage anyway, to pay for it) so i loop around the blocks a few more times then head home. right when i pull into the complex i live in a cop sees me. f*ck. nailed. he obviously could see i was collecting junk, not dumping it, so i didn't get an illegal dump ticket, but did get one for "driving out of restriction"....long story short, i guess i should've took the tv, cause instead of making 2$ on however long it would take to break down i lost over 300$ on the ticket.

maybe she had seen scrappers bust up tv's in front of her house before, i dunno, but i know i never used to see tv guts around, but since i start work at 5am i've been seeing more and more from late night mess makers....good thing they come out late at night or else theyd be getting the good sh*t i got at 4pm!

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I always carry singles ( $1.00 ) with me as i often might pay as a gesture. A $1 goes along way to create good will.

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I'm sorry but if someone would hand me a $1.00 I'd throw it back cause I've done been insulted and besides I wouldn't want that extra dollar to break "their" budget! Think about it,,,

On the subject of tvs I like em , enough said . As to the $1 well fare is fare, if I find only $2 worth of stuff well then i am giveing them 50%. & realize, when you give some one a $1 it is not for a Frig or Oven, it's for some thing the person can't even believe is worth a $1. Some people take bot's for .05 so $1 is 20 bot's to them.
Think about the fact that when you do this fare type of purchase a $1 here a $1 there adds up to more then a $1 at weeks end .
Most people don't want the money.