Who else goes out on trash night?

Since moving to Florida getting junk removal jobs is slim pickings, which I believe is for two reasons: 1.) Curbside pickup takes ANYTHING here that you can get to the curb, and 2.) There are no basements here! Thank god my business in Michigan is going well!

As an experiment I was trash-picking the other night and scored three appliances, several vacuums, some aluminum and copper, some tv's I haven't decided if I want to break down, a couple of microwaves, a gas grill, and miscellaneous assorted metal items. I was stunned by how much was available, got a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff.

I am quickly getting over my perceived stigma of being a junk picker, but getting the wife over it is another story. :-)

Is this a profitable thing to you by you, or did I hit a lucky fluke?

I'll be going out again soon.

BTW saw a couple of tv's with the backs busted off as mentioned on other posts.

I go out on trash night in my hood every weeks. Average about $100 a night for 2 hours of driving around.

I go out every Day/night execpt Fridays and Saturdays sence there's no garbage pick ups on sat or sun mornings. I still will go out on the weekends when I get boared for people who cleaned out there house or garadge over the weekend and put it out early. Thats how I find most of my appiances, The day before trash night.

Welcome to FL, trash nights are your running cost/ petty cash. Your call ins are your profits. this place is assbackwards but you gotta love the weather.

Just to many full time scrappers in sarasota. Drive by Mlk and 301 And you'll see a truck load every ten min

Curb picking for me turns out break even more often than not, except during the summer months since college kids move out and they would rather throw things away than move them since it's parents $$$$. I had to come home unload and go back out over summer, now I'm lucky if I find even 1 item with more time spent on the road. I find some useful items for myself, stuff for other people, and sometimes I get lucky that is why I continue to do it.

Have you ever tried picking beach side?

My finds on trash night have gone way down. Never seen an appliance besides a dishwasher around here. Just the other day I passed 4 scrappers on the way home from work. A 5 mile drive, guess when you have 4 yards within 3 miles of each other down the road everyone can do it themselves.

It's hit or miss. There are several scrappers that run the same hoods around here. So its a matter of a little luck and knowing how to play the game. I filled my truck full in an hour this tues evening. This morning only found 1 dishwasher after an hour. I scrap before and after my full time job.

I still do it about once a month or so. Lots of competition. Always make a few $$ profit, but for me it's more about just the time with which ever one of my kids is riding along with me.

I go out to select areas and specific Apt. complexes that seem relatively unknown (out of the way for most people since I live in a well off and remote suburb). Otherwise I only stop and grab random items I see when I'm on the road. Majority of what I do comes from people wanting items removed for free.

Personally I don't think there is enough time in the day to go out looking and gambling.

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Originally Posted by Mod

Personally I don't think there is enough time in the day to go out looking and gambling.

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HUH how is it a gamble....I have never lost money trash pickin but I take everything when I go into pickin mode.....

^ You're not in Fl. Today I drove around in the morning for 30 minutes on one side of town where it was trash day, and found nothing at all. Tonight I drove around for 45 min on another side where it's trash day tomorrow and I found maybe $4 in shred, and $1 in wire from some crappy light fixtures, it was a total of 45 miles and my truck gets 18mpg, I filled up last at ~$3.68, so I spent $9.20 in gas and found $5 in goods leaves me in the RED -$4.20, put that in yo pipe and smoke it.....

How is running in the red for 1 1/4 hrs a gamble? You need a much larger sample than that. If your area is not dense enough, or over saturated with competition to produce positive results. You A: run in the red until you starve your competition out. B: Find a different area, If its under populated C: Stop altogether, and find a diffrent hobby/ job. On a side note: when you find the appliance worth 20$ immediately after being in the red $4.20 I guess you wouldn't be $15.80 in the black? Perhaps at 420 you just give up and go smoke up.

Tonight was a total bust. The area where collection is done tomorrow morning is all gated communities. Drove 30 min to get there.

If all else fails, buy low...sell high.

I started scraping on a electric scooter with a 6 mile range it soon became overwhelming amounts of stuff I carried on it, maybe I should go back to that method, it didn't cost me anything.

Maybe you could upgrade and attach a sidecar to your lil' scooter. Don't forget your helmet...beep beep.

If you keep running scrap the numbers will equal out....When I first started out I had a partner and we would spend 10-12 hours a day in the truck and just keep running.....Sure you might run some gas but it takes money to make money....Don't get frustrated

I'm a trash picker period...and once you start picking...lol.

Some days are a bust sure, but they take everything around here on trash day, so you never know what you'll find.

I'm not just looking for metal, I look for stuff I can use and re-sell too, I doubt I'll ever find the "motherload" and strike it rich, but I wouldn't keep doing it if it wasn't worth it.

Scrap, i been getting lucky running right after 4:30 pm and been loading up each time. And the competition in orlando will never give up. Will just never happen when you can stand in a scrap yard and watch 30 fully loaded trucks and trailers drop of every hour. Only days ive seen that have been slow are days that fall under holidays and trash night.

Well ive been out as well i been doing recon on the local area scrappers and casually talking to them till i figure out what times they usually go out. Then if i find there car out on my route ill plan for before they go out and hit the area again in the morning. Its been working out and they seem not to even notice me filling up my car a few times. But i have been getting alot of electronics by going out early.

Have you tried the oveido area? Or the Curry ford area. both are high population spots with least amount of HOA's which are a pain in the @ss....tell someone to put the trash out only from 6a to 12pm just wtf

Paper,plastic,glass,metal,textile,chemicals,tile,b ricks,wood,plants,cardboard,vegetable oil,electronics,furniture,ceramics,compost,or any combination of these things is left out by almost every house i pass by,all have some value to someone,therefore with a little research you can find a buyer for any of these things. I know most of us will pass by hundreds of pounds of cardboard,just to collect metal,some folks vice versa.Some of this depends on is this worth my time,or efforts to get,and some of this kind of depends on your situation,transportation,space,financial,upset spouse. Myself, i concentrate of things of good value,things that dont take long to break down ,smaller items,or things that i can sell fast,and i ride past the cardboard,glass,cans,tvs,freezers,washers... I realize im leaving alot of money on the ground just because i dont have the time,or space for it all. With a bigger truck,a trailer,and a rented storage space,and a little help,i would get everything i can.

I dont but I might start. A bit worried though, someone may call the police if they see me going through their bins.

If I also add a note or two. Since Onee mentioned (bins) under no circumstances should anyone go through receptacles designated or provided by recycling and or garbage removal companies. That is considerd stealing. There are a lot of towns around here. All provide small bins for recycling ( pop cans, newspapers, beer bottles, ect..) Some towns, not all provide large trash receptacles that you throw you Reg garbage into. These are also not to be gone threw looked in or sifted over. It's bad taste and reflects poorly on scrappers. If its on the curb past the side walk then it is considerd free reign. At least in this area. Between the side walk and street is city easement. Only the city can tell you not to take it given that its placed by the homeowner for removal. Dumpsters in apt complexes are also considerd trespassing. Most of this is common sense. Lastly please, anyone who goes through peoples personal trash cans STOP. Take the only obvious items set out. You make people feel violated when you take the lid off their garbage and rifle through. Stick to taking pita items to get rid if like furniture ( if that's your thing) appliances, Electronics, or whatever else you scrap. Have a little bit of etiquette and common sense out there. AND WEAR GLOVES!

:cool:found a 47" zenith flatscreen sticking out of a bin yesterday watching it now, could not resist that one.

Glad I found this site tonight, tomorrow's trash day for me, and I'm feeling inspired lol. I'm about to take my truck out and see what I can find. It'll be my first search :D, I'll post up if I find anything.

Im sorry but those "Personal" trash bags are the ones that have the high end money pieces. If you leave a mess bad form. but if you can get through the whole bag and not leave a mess i say go for it.

I just got back from my first time going out to look for scrap. Ive picked up some things here and there in the past, but it was always just places I was passing in route to home or work. I spent about 30 min or so driving around, and turned up with nothing to scrap. I did however find a 12ft fiberglass ladder someone had left on the curb. Not really sure why they were throwing it away seeing that it was still perfect. So instead of removing the aluminum steps off of it, I think Ill be adding this to my tool collection.

My wife's uncle and I went out one night when he started with me. I told him to prepare for nothing as there was TONS of scrappers that drove around. We managed to find 2 little bicycles that my 2 daughters love, a satellite dish, and a few other things.

I live in a townhouse area where our trash is placed near the garages in the alley. I have access to about 30 townhouses within walking distance. My favorite is my neighbor two doors down that continually throws away power tools. Most of the time the tools work perfectly.

I never fully understand why people throw out the things they do. Oh well....

Cheers!
Tom

I "Curb-shop" where I live on Mon. and Thurs..
Mostly (for eficiantcy) because I can work as soon as I leave the door.
I found other neighborhoods along my route that have Tue. and Fri. pick-ups too.

This is a nice area where people average over 110k/yr. ,so plenty of lawn-mowers and stuff they don't have time to fix (easily).
I try to go in the morning instead of eve. .
The trucks HAVE to go later in the morning (I figure) because otherwise, they would complain the truck arrived before they put their "crap" out.
The Low-income places tend to have MORE since the high move-in/out rates. Plus people there tend to be less "Kooky" about it all. (In apt.s I have to be careful to be quiet as possible, while making sure to toss left-overs in garbage)

Tends to be a race though. I try to be careful about the recycle bins, since those aren't going to land-fills, and in D.C. ,for example, so many people were taking cans they had to put out public service mssg.s that it WAS NOT for public, etc. there.

I heard FL has GREAT thrift-stores, I Imagine it's because when the elderly there die , thier relatives donate the stuff,
(rather than transporting it to where they live) ...There's probably some good scrap to be had at those there, I Imagine.

It's always funny when I'm racing against the trash trucks, then I get back home to get another load,
and worry they'll see where I live tho'!
Some mornings I've gotten two loads, then had plenty to keep me disassembling (in garage) rest o' day...
Thursdays I tend to not even hit my regular thrift shop, or no time (Due to liability they want me to pick up before hours, or after....stupid d*mn lawyers...I swear!).

One morning I saw some alum. doors, (I usually unsrew one screw, and pry the rest apart)...
I heard "Knock, Knock ,Knock" on the window, looked up and there was a very overweight black lady with no shirt on!
I was like ,"can I take these, please?" She stated firmly out the window ,"NO!"
Thing is I was wondering why she was butt-neked, looking at her garbage pile???
I could only think she was waiting for the regular garbage men , to watch them while doing something VERY PREVERTED!!!!(LOL)
Only thing I can figure about that one!;)
:cool: