City Spring Clean-Ups are on the way!

Originally Posted by Storedaddy

Yeah it's WM. I thought about parking there with a sign but it's on the corner of two streets and the only place to park is about 200 to 300 yards away on a side road down a small drainage canyon which is a parking lot for county owned park/hiking trail. I will figure something out though because I think it could make money. Has anyone else had any luck dealing with WM for buying or taking stuff out

I'd say the problem with WM is that they typically handle the reycling of appliances. As far as scrap metal goes, I'd just go in and ask them. "Hey can I hang around here and collect scrap metal since you're not recycling it?" While you're waiting, maybe help people unload their stuff. But like I said earlier the bigger trash companies have policies for EVERYTHING but I think if you're cool about it, (maybe throw the manager a few bucks here and there) I think if they were to turn you down, it's probably because when the big whigs come in to inspect/audit they don't want to get in trouble because they let you hang out there all day taking scrap.
Try! it's definitely worth a shot

Originally Posted by drozenski

The did that where i use to live.

Have you thought about driving the streets with a trailer to limit the trips to the shop and time out on the street.

No, the shop is a 5 min. drive from where I'm scrapping. I don't like pulling extra weight when I don't have to. Plus scrappers here don't use trailers. We just put up walls, and ladder racks and stack it high.
I'm also working on buying a large diesel cabover dump truck with a 16 foot dump bed. I'll be just fine

Originally Posted by elitelawnteam1

I'd say the problem with WM is that they typically handle the reycling of appliances. As far as scrap metal goes, I'd just go in and ask them. "Hey can I hang around here and collect scrap metal since you're not recycling it?" While you're waiting, maybe help people unload their stuff. But like I said earlier the bigger trash companies have policies for EVERYTHING but I think if you're cool about it, (maybe throw the manager a few bucks here and there) I think if they were to turn you down, it's probably because when the big whigs come in to inspect/audit they don't want to get in trouble because they let you hang out there all day taking scrap.
Try! it's definitely worth a shot

Sorry, just stating my opinion here. I think this is a bad idea. I have a feeling that Waste Management would probably Kick you off the property for staying just before the weigh station and collecting the appliances. Why would they let you hang around the tipping floor and take metal from people? Even if you "tossed" the managers money, I would be willing to bet money he would say no. You can get into big trouble for stuff behind big whigs back, and you can get the manager in trouble for making money off of a businesses wastes you could say, which is highly forbidden in a lot of businesses. I know people who are managers for some pharmacy's (Walgreens) that would give me TONS of metal from refacings and renovations, but they can't because it's against the rules to make money off of the businesses wastes. If you really want appliances, I would talk to the operations manager of the facility and try to work out a deal where you pay X amount for mixed appliances, and just set up a drop off area for them near the tipping floor. The tipping floor is a pretty dangerous place for a number of reasons. #1: At most transfer stations, there is an area called "The Pit" which is a big concrete pit where the trash is dumped and is flattened and compressed by large bulldozers. It is then pushed to one side of the pit where it is pushed into a large semi trailer and it is hauled to a landfill off site. If you are "Hanging out" by the pit, you are a liability to WM and you could sue them if you get hurt or pushed into the pit. Why would ANY company want to take a risk like that? By you hanging around the pit, it would be the equivalent of you "Hanging out" at the shred pile at the yard pulling out the good stuff.
And the second reason is, you could probably get fined for trespassing if you stayed there long enough and if WM wanted to be real jerks. Why would you want to take that risk? I know I wouldn't. It just sounds like a bad idea all the way around, but I guess I just try do things the right way because I have a company's REPUTATION on the line and I don't want to risk that. I think its just a bad idea from the start. Just my $.02

Originally Posted by elitelawnteam1

What kind of transfer station allows regular people in their personal vehicles to dump their trash directly in the pit? No sensible company, especially WM. They have a special area (usually a roll-off where people chuck it in) reason for this is because there are garbage trucks dumping in the pit! It is extremely dangerous allowing residents to directly throw their garbage into the pit. So you would therefore not be by the pit, but where the residents drop off their trash.

ASK FIRST!!! IF YOU DON'T, YOU WILL MOST LIKELY GET IN TROUBLE

And why can't you hang out by the shred pile? the scrap yard guys let me take back a/c units and other things that are thrown in shred, I disassemble them and bring them back. The employees are happy because they don't have to pick through it and disassemble them, and i'm happy because im making more money. I can go in to my yard and buy electrical wire for a little more than what they paid per lb, and i don't have to spend an arm and a leg buying new wire to wire accessories to my truck.


READ 1st, COMMENT 2nd

Dude, calm down.

Ok, first off, I apologize for offending you. That was not my intention. I did read your both of your comments, and I posted the possible problems that I saw with it (IMO). For me, it was the way you worded your post that threw me off, and the way that you were saying if you "Played it cool" just makes you sound sketchy and I know your not. I apologize for mis interpreting your post. My bad.

Going back to your reply to me about the transfer station, some of the ones around me allow people to do that, some landfills allow you to dump your own truck inside the landfill, no roll off needed in some cases. In a lot of transfer stations down here, the trucks dump on one side of the pit, and the residents dump on the other. There is a chain fence that prevents people from falling in for the most part. I guess the way trash is handled down here is different than up there.

None of the yards down here by me allow people to fish stuff out of the shred pile. If you do, the boom operator yells at you. The way I was talking about the shred pile was if you were to stay out there for extended periods of time and fish out motors, aluminum, the good stuff. THAT would be a liability in my opinion. Again, MY opinion.

I'm sorry if this forum I pi$$ed you off. That was not my intention. I hope that you understand my perspective on your post. Apparently the trash and recycling biz is very different up there from down here.

Originally Posted by elitelawnteam1

Apology accepted, but if you look through a lot of my other posts/replies this is what happens. Like the last time, I posted how I break down tvs, and in the end there was like 2-3 pages of people telling me that I shouldn't break the lead glass even when I insisted I didn't. I'm just agitated because I am a part of 3 other forums besides this one, ford trucks, lawnsite, and plowsite. and i never hear the sorts of replies I get here.

It seems to me a majority of the members here are so obsessed with the "I'm a legal, professional scrapper" ego thing goin on, that if you don't clarify in every frickin post that you don't cut freon lines, and you don't smash lead glass you will be reminded to.

I don't know, maybe im just crazy but that's what I've noticed at least.

I'm also a member of Lawnsite, Plowsite and Let's Talk Snow (Lawnsite actually started as "Lawnicure". Plowsite started as a section of Lawnsite. Let's Talk Snow was started by a Plowsite moderator) - all three from their beginnings. The same thing happened with each of them, just in different ways.
Everybody wants to make sure everybody else understands how "professional" they are in respective fields.