Any Advice on scrapping on trash days?

Hello all. I am new to scrapping as a form of supplemental income.



I have been going out on Sunday evenings as bulk pick up is every monday. Different area of town each week. I downloaded the trash route and drive the entire route. I have collected as much as 3 truck loads in an evening!! (not kidding guys. I was blown away.) Regular trash is Tuesday-Friday. I have been doing at least 1 Full mounded truck load tuesday-friday. In my time it is obvious that someone else is making rounds because tonight I only got a ceiling fan and a mini fridge! Well Post away guys and thanks for reading.

don't forgot to look for stuff you can resell. I'm amazed on the junk people buy on ebay.

If trash pickup is a few hours after sunrise, then some people may wait until morning to move trash. Morning searches could be profitable.

I have alot of competition around me , hard to find anything lately.

It's all about timing for me. There is so much competition here sometimes it pays off better to go out on non garbage days. I use a GPS it is very handy so that I don't backtrack and get to see new real estate instead of dead ending, etc. Sometimes it pays to check the dark cul-de-sac or dead end. I remember one time I was pissed I hit a dead end and got lost and right when I got upset bam a battery on the curb.

Gated communities with guard gates are awesome! The people there have too much dignity to scrap, and people who want to scrap it can't follow cars in through the gate since it is guarded. This is my new tactic you just have to figure out how to get in, that means you will be making a new friend.........

I sometimes have better luck on Saturday or Sunday afternoons as people clean out the house, garage, or shed and when your cleaning out something like that you want the clutter gone even if large pickup isn't until friday. You just found fresh scrap instead of it sitting there marinating until garbage night for another scrapper to beat you to.

The 2 days before the end of the month, and the 9 days after tend to be well for rental properties, I try not to miss these.

Watch when the other scrappers go past your house and keep a mental note. after a few weeks you should know who and what times the other guys go out and go an hour before they go. Around here everyone seems to go out around 10pm, so I go out at 9:00

The more miles/ time you put into it the more you will get out if it. The shelf life when scrap is put to the curb around here is literally minutes. I would sound like I was exaggerating if I said seconds however, that's usually the case. Run for a few months then crunch your numbers. I have had nights when I had to unload 3 or 4 times and Ive gone days where I lost money on gas alone. The numbers will even out in the long run.

Wow, thanks everyone for the input. I've only seen 1 guy driving around my neighborhood in the 8 years I've lived here. I don't see him any more so I'm guessing we are running same hours. I am unable to do runs in the am as my work drive is so long and i start early morning. would be running at like 3 or 4 am and dont think that would be wise as I drive a 3/4 ton diesel.

CurbCo. has gotten bad since my township delivered new trash cans that the truck can just claw and dump. I believe alot of people are throwing out good stuff in them, but I'm not gonna start looking under every lid. Look for neighborhoods where none of the trash cans match, learn the route, and be there before the other guy is. Also, someone said earlier that just because it ain't out there on trash night, doesn't mean it won't be there on trash morning.

We've got the same, an it doesn't stop people from putting the good stuff outside the can. Tho I rarely see the metal broom type handles anymore, for some reason they like to stick those in the can. I don't do curbco as often as I used to, but I still take a ride now an then.

Keep looking, most people will still throw it outside those type of can's out of habit. Or keep the inside for the bags to keep critters out.

Sirscrapalot - I expect a zombie to show up on 'Sesame Street' soon, teaching kids to count. - George Romero

Every once in a blue moon, i find something worthwhile outside of the can. Yesterday I was on the way to a job interview before the sun came up, the day after trash day... found a printer, tower, and a monitor curbside. This is what prompted my earlier post about beginnings of e-scrapping.

I usually used to go a few hours before the trash driver would come pick up to the route . I agree with what you all say , getting to know the other guys' schedule is a good thing that

way you can be ahead of them , and they will just be following the route you just went to without even knowing until they see you . Ive gotten a full truck load with my lid open a

couple times doing this , and its worth it . Sometimes it might be the other way around , when that happens I just go to the route through the main roads and look around , if I see

nothing I go somewhere else. Also 2 months ago I found a heating air conditioning place , oh man they set the water heaters , furnace , and air conditioners next to their dumpster to

take for free!!!!!!!!!!! so far I have only seen one other guy that went long before me but I think he has not noticed I just found out about this . I have easily gotten around 20 water

heaters in the past 2 months that might not be a lot but it just takes me 5 minutes to go look to the dumpster , also body shops repair have lots of metal which they set next to their

dumpsters . I know most businesses are not allowed to throw in metal to their dumpsters along with their garbage . I hope this helps

I live in the Detroit area, and I scrap fairly regularly, although not every day, or sometimes even every week. That said, there's a few things I've learned along the way:

1. Don't let seeing another scrapper in the neighborhood discourage you.

Scrappers come and go, and they're all looking for different things. I'm a TV scrapper. Lots of guys drive right by TVs, thinking they're not worth the trouble. You will likely see things the other guy didn't, and you can develop a sense for what boxes are worth stopping for and looking in. Don't let that other scrapper scare you off. You'll see stuff he didn't because he's in too much of a hurry, or he's only looking for "big" stuff, etc.

2. Over the long haul, the neighborhood will provide.

You will have good days and you will have days where you've wasted your time and fuel. If you're in a good area (read: most people are employed, the houses are well tended, and there is some turn-over in the neighborhood, people moving in and out, etc.) over the long run the good days will outnumber the bad days. You have to stick with it and not get discouraged if you have two or three bad days in a row. Americans throw stuff out. They've been conditioned to. They don't sell their stuff , and they don't take it to the scrap yard themselves. Ultimately, you, the smart scrapper, can make this pay off.

3. If you don't feel up to getting out of the truck, turn around and go home.

There's no sense burning fuel if you're just not in the mood to be out scrapping. Why pay to drive past the stuff that on another day you'd hop out for? If you're like me, this is more of a hobby that makes you extra spending money than it is your daily food and shelter. Don't ruin a hobby by making it work.

4. Learn from your fellow scrappers by watching YouTube.

"Mike the Scrapper", "Jack the Scrapper", "Moose Scrapper", "Scraperella" -- these folks provide a valuable service for free: they show you the techniques for getting stuff apart quickly, and they tell you what's worth keeping. They are not 100% dead on every time, you have to do your own research. And they probably don't live where you do, and their scrap yard has different policies than yours does. But they show you the ropes, and they're **** entertaining as well.

5. Ebay and Craigslist are your friends.

Remember, scrap value by definition is the lowest value any material has. If you find a vacuum cleaner that works, chances are you can get better than scrap value for it with a little clean-up, a cell phone picture, and a free ad on Craigslist. Sometimes you can find valuable stuff you will use yourself. I once picked up a $400 Oreck vacuum on the curb. It was maybe 10 years old, and someone had burned up the belt on it and tossed it. Some scrapper cut part of the cord, but left it all there on the curb. I took it home, cleaned it up, replaced the belt, fixed the cord, and it's the best **** vacuum cleaner I've ever owned, bar none. I have found an endless assortment of tools, clothes, household items, furniture, etc., on the curb, many of which I have kept for myself, shared with friends, or sold for a nice profit. Don't get "scrap blinders" on -- try to figure out how to get the real value out of each item.

Now to give you some sense of what scrapping has done for me:
o Paid for my daughter's band camp
o Paid for my son's trip to camp
o Made Christmas way better than it ever would have been otherwise
o Paid for a brand new pistol I carry every day
o Paid many a light, phone or heat bill

I'm not in danger of getting rich from scrapping, but perseverance, patience, and trying to enjoy my time scrapping has definitely enriched my life, put some coin in my pocket, and beer in my belly.

So that's what I have to say to a new scrapper.

--Geoff