There are so many people doing it right now that for a part-timer it's difficult to find stuff the night before garbage day. If you get lucky you find it within 30 minutes of it being put out. Otherwise it's gone. I find my best stuff on non-garbage nights. If they have an appliance, it's likely getting put out no matter what day it is. You have a better window to find it. But even then, several of the other scrappers will run every neighborhood at least once a day.



My best days are Saturday and Sundays, but only in areas without Monday pickup. The garbage trucks usually roll earlier on Saturday. If an item gets put out that afternoon, I find I have a better chance of getting it. It seems I see less scrappers on the road on Saturday than any other day. Also rain seems to keep them away. They'll still run areas that have garbage pickup the next day, but tend to stay away from the others.

I know this sounds bad, but I am ready for prices to crash. Huge price swings are great. Let prices fall to $7 per 100lb on shreddable and you find 5 times as much.