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You threw away what?!

237 50 June 21, 2012 at 05:05 PM
I decided to put my log book on this forum so you can all see the crazy amount of free stuff in good condition that I find while walking my dogs at night in NYC. My girlfriend and I recently moved into a new apartment on the Upper East Side and we had been noticing how much brand new (or antique) stuff is left out on the curb.

So for fun (and because we are both as cheap as they come), we started grabbing stuff that is in good condition. Either we use it, try to sell it, or give it away.

Oh, and keep in mind, bottles and cans have a $0.05 deposit on them so we return those.

We just started keeping track, here is what we have so far:

6/18 - 18 books, 1 milk crate, 4 deposit cans ($0.20)
6/19 - Aero-Swiss Humidifier (Valued over $100), Keurig Coffee Machine ($120), Small Dust Buster, Best Fitness Leg Developer (Over $100), 11 deposit cans ($0.55)
6/20 - 7 deposit cans ($0.35)
6/21 - 37 bottle deposit cans (took the dogs on a long walk this afternoon) ($1.85)

That's the last four days, I'll update this as we get new finds.

Anyone else do this either out of necessity or as a hobby?

Stephen

Check out the new blog @ http://youthrewawaywhat.wordpress.com ... my site where all I do is talk about garbage!
About the OP
New York City Joined Jun 2012 Trash Connoisseur
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Last Edited by stephenNYC July 30, 2012 at 06:41 PM
Here is the master list of all of our finds to date! It also includes what has sold, the upcycle projects and any other benefits we have gotten from our trash!

Found:

TOTAL: 8 milk crates
TOTAL: 635 My Coke Reward Points
  • 18 books
  • Aero-Swiss Humidifier
  • Keurig Coffee Machine
  • Small Dust Buster
  • Best Fitness Leg Developer
  • Giorgio Armani Sunglasses Case
  • June issue of Backpacker Magazine
  • Verizon Phone charger
  • 7 dresser drawers
  • 2 Wilson Titanium Tennis Rackets
  • Large Kitchen Garbage can
  • Michael's Arts and Crafts drawers
  • A crochet purse
  • Shannon Hand-Crafted Lead Crystal Cake Plate and Server
  • Cooks Panini-Maker
  • 3 Magazines -- Elle, Cosmo, and Glamour
  • 2 Picture frames in their original plastic
  • Film Quarterly magazines from the 1960s and 70s
  • CAT5e Ethernet Cable
  • DesignForLiving Water Bottle
  • Broyhill Nightstand
  • Cheese Grater
  • NIB Wilson Titanium Tennis Balls
  • Some eating utensils
  • Two Hard Rock Cafe Glasses, NIB
  • 254 my coke rewards points.
  • Black and Decker mixer
  • Frying pan
  • Lemonade pitcher
  • Coffee table
  • HP1040 Fax Machine
  • HP Floppy Drive & Smart Card Reader
  • Dell Keyboard
  • BodyBlade Classic 4
  • Bake King Cupcake Pan
  • Step stool
  • United States Annotated Code Chapters 28 (Federal Rules of Evidence) and 42 (Public Health and Welfare), 2001 edition with the 2012 supplements.
  • A Trash Can
  • Laundry Basket
  • Kelty Kids Ridgeline Backpack
  • Budweiser Billiard Cue
  • HP Toner
  • CAT 3 Cable
  • Holmes AccuTemp Window Fan
  • "The Naked Nude Nude" screen print art
  • HP OfficeJet Pro K850
  • 2 Electronics Stands
  • Laptop Desk with Built in Fan
  • Signed Artist Proof, Fragment by Arline Sherman
  • Small screwdriver set
  • Players Image Alignment Golf MIRROR Training Aid
  • 2 Family & Friends CPR Training Kits with Manikins
  • Pantone Color Tint Selector by Pantone Library of Color
  • 3 Books on Woodworking
  • 10Base-T Concentrator
  • A bunch of cedar shoe-horns
  • S-Video Cable


Upcycled:
  • Two dresser drawers into kitchen shelving
  • Film Quarterly Magazines into Art for wall

Converted to Cash:
  • HP1040 Fax Machine, Recalled for $100 rebate. Used to buy new printer
  • Bottle Deposit Returns: $16.30
  • HP Toner and HP1040 Ink Cart, HP OfficeJet Carts/Toner (11) -- $26 @ Staples
  • BodyBlade Classic 4 -- $68 via Ebay
  • Michael's Storage Drawers -- $25 via Ebay
  • Air-O-Swiss Humidifier -- $25 via Ebay
  • Both Wilson Tennis Rackets -- $27 via Ebay
  • Kelty Kids Backpack -- $36 via Ebay

380 Comments

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Joined Jun 2012
Trash Connoisseur
> bubble2 237 Posts
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Original Poster
stephenNYC
06-21-2012 at 05:08 PM.
06-21-2012 at 05:08 PM.
Oh, forgot to mention 30 My Coke Rewards points
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Joined Jul 2004
Master Of Scamps
> bubble2 17,139 Posts
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Scampsters
06-21-2012 at 05:14 PM.
06-21-2012 at 05:14 PM.
MLV gets his food free from behind fastfood joints.
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Joined Jul 2007
doing science,still alive
> bubble2 815 Posts
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trygve
06-21-2012 at 06:30 PM.
06-21-2012 at 06:30 PM.
One of my brothers is into dumpster diving--he gets a lot of interesting stuff, but one of his best finds lately was a set of heavy rubber concrete stamps (you use them on fresh concrete to imprint paving stone shapes). Those ended up selling for about $275.
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Joined Dec 2005
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chanle51
06-21-2012 at 07:03 PM.
06-21-2012 at 07:03 PM.
Good stuff OP. That's about as good as it gets for sidewalk/dumpster diving - that's the place to be!
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Joined Nov 2005
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Dr. J
06-21-2012 at 07:05 PM.
06-21-2012 at 07:05 PM.
better time is moveout week in a college town.
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Joined Jan 2006
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AggieMom
06-21-2012 at 07:43 PM.
06-21-2012 at 07:43 PM.
Quote from Dr. J :
better time is moveout week in a college town.
Seriously. Those kids throw out all kinds of stuff!

We have people here in suburbia that troll the neighborhoods on trash night. We once put an old, rusted-out grill on the curb and it was gone an hour later. Ditto with a child's bicycle that was rusted and had rotten tires, and a couch, easy chair and mattress from my sister's place.
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Joined May 2006
Boating
> bubble2 21,228 Posts
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Piccaboo
06-21-2012 at 07:52 PM.
06-21-2012 at 07:52 PM.
Quote from AggieMom :
Seriously. Those kids throw out all kinds of stuff!

We have people here in suburbia that troll the neighborhoods on trash night. We once put an old, rusted-out grill on the curb and it was gone an hour later. Ditto with a child's bicycle that was rusted and had rotten tires, and a couch, easy chair and mattress from my sister's place.
Anything made of metal is worth $$$ to the scrappers, they come through our neighborhoods relentlessly on trash nights - coming up and down the streets about 4 or 5 times per trash night - and their trucks end up filled by the end of the night. There is also a HUGE problem with businesses around here having their central a/c's being vandalized and the copper stolen from them; it's an epidemic at this point. Several businesses now have 24/7 security due to this; as it has become so costly to replace what has been stolen numerous times. Homes that are up for foreclosure, those too are being stripped and/or businesses that are closed at this time. If there is metal to be found, watch out; they will go for it due to the increased cost recyclers are paying for it. Our regional rail line has gone as far as marking all their lines, equipment with special paint - so none of it can be sold to recyclers anymore. Hospital's have put up fencing downtown with barbed wire around their systems as a result of this as well.
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Joined Nov 2005
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Dr. J
06-21-2012 at 07:59 PM.
06-21-2012 at 07:59 PM.
Quote from Piccaboo :
Anything made of metal is worth $$$ to the scrappers, they come through our neighborhoods relentlessly on trash nights - coming up and down the streets about 4 or 5 times per trash night - and their trucks end up filled by the end of the night. There is also a HUGE problem with businesses around here having their central a/c's being vandalized and the copper stolen from them; it's an epidemic at this point. Several businesses now have 24/7 security due to this; as it has become so costly to replace what has been stolen numerous times. Homes that are up for foreclosure, those too are being stripped and/or businesses that are closed at this time. If there is metal to be found, watch out; they will go for it due to the increased cost recyclers are paying for it. Our regional rail line has gone as far as marking all their lines, equipment with special paint - so none of it can be sold to recyclers anymore. Hospital's have put up fencing downtown with barbed wire around their systems as a result of this as well.

A bunch of vandals did that to a local Easter Seals camp (AC's on roof). Lowlifes.
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Joined May 2006
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Piccaboo
06-21-2012 at 08:14 PM.
06-21-2012 at 08:14 PM.
Quote from Dr. J :
A bunch of vandals did that to a local Easter Seals camp (AC's on roof). Lowlifes.
Yep, they hit a lot of roof top businesses around here as well - it's really bad. Many security camera's are being installed, but a day late, and a dollar short at this point. And, the sad part to this is the recycle centers know damn well they are taking in "stolen merchandise" - but because these stealer/scrappers are breaking down everything into less than $100 buy backs for cash - it goes unrecorded at the recycle centers - they are trying to pass a law now - that anyone recycling anything would need to be paid by check and show I.D. as well - which I think is a good idea. Though I'm sure the vagrants who pick up cans and stuff off the side of the roadways won't be happy about this, as they probably don't have I.D. to show to turn in their shopping carts full of cans and stuff. But it would keep down the lowlifes who are stealing this stuff. I don't think a day goes by, where it's not on my local news page here, about this happening.

If you think it's bad here, down the Jersey Shore it's much worse, for all those people who have homes that are empty all winter long; they are vandalized pretty well by the time people go down to open them for the spring/summer season; same thing - copper being stolen.
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Joined Jun 2012
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stephenNYC
06-21-2012 at 09:36 PM.
06-21-2012 at 09:36 PM.
I'm not into the whole scrapping idea for myself. It's too heavy to carry that shit around when you don't have wheels (mine are parked out in the burbs at my parent's house). I'll leave that to the people with the trucks. Tonight's walk wasn't super lucrative in terms of stuff. We walked only 6 blocks to let the dogs take their night-time leak and came up with another 24 bottles ($1.20) and 4 caps for My Coke Rewards.

I used to say (given that I have 3 dogs)... "if I had a nickel for every shit I picked up I'd be rich" ... well, now that I've been doing this, I'm getting like a quarter per shit haha.

Forgot to mention --- snagged a WaWa milk crate as well. Those are great for storing stuff in the closet. Dunno where it came from tho, I haven't seen any WaWas around here....*opens google*
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Last edited by stephenNYC June 21, 2012 at 09:43 PM.
Joined Jun 2012
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stephenNYC
06-21-2012 at 09:40 PM.
06-21-2012 at 09:40 PM.
Quote from AggieMom :
Seriously. Those kids throw out all kinds of stuff!

We have people here in suburbia that troll the neighborhoods on trash night. We once put an old, rusted-out grill on the curb and it was gone an hour later. Ditto with a child's bicycle that was rusted and had rotten tires, and a couch, easy chair and mattress from my sister's place.
For sure. My girlfriend said that in her dorm's move-out last year people were piling up textbooks to throw away in the lobby. We are going to raid that this fall and sell them on Amazon.
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Joined Jul 2004
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serra | Staff
06-21-2012 at 10:55 PM.
06-21-2012 at 10:55 PM.
interesting finds.

scavenging is illegal in my city.
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ManUpOrShutUp
06-21-2012 at 11:05 PM.
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