CopperHead Still Alive

Hi! I am also in PA. Would love to pick your brain on what dumpsters you like to hit!

I also do e-waste and refurbishing/reselling computers/laptops. Have sent off I think 4 pallets so far of e-waste, and many many tons of local scrap over the last few years....

Originally Posted by CopperHeadAKA

There variables but for me I like to find Free at dumpsters at locations of the sale of items you want
but eventually they dry up , go out of business or finally a worker sees your activity's
for a few years and decides to discover why you do it , I've seen it dry up fast never to have a good
item out one day & soon enough you realize No More
Vacuum sales stores were great for about 8 years but I don't see any out Any More for the last 2 years
utility company's used to never bother me then in time the scrap yard has an actual container there
so that's off limits.
Construction sights can be good .
Old tube TV's seem forever but they will stop some day , leaving Flats next, not really my thing .
I'm in a unique situation I generally had to stop collecting , I am booming full

I usually stay away from dumpsters on account of I dont want to ruffle any feathers.... I do scrap stuff as side income and for fun, dont need a confrontation. With taking trash off the curb, no one cares, in fact often times people will see me and wave me down and say "hey! you do scrap stuff? I got a mower and a bike and .... do you want it?" ..... Dumpsters seem to be too much liability and risk of tresspassing charges. The ONE time I hit a dumpster, the very first time I mustered up the courage to do so, the owner somehow saw me and came out and gave me an earful and said if he ever sees me by his dumpster again hes calling the cops, etc.... I said "Im not putting stuff in the dumpster man, Im taking stuff OUT of it so it doesnt go to the landfill and can get reused or recycled". Didnt matter, he just didnt want anyone in his dumpster for some reason.

Originally Posted by CopperHeadAKA

I think with the dumpster thing , it's a unique aura one has to give off . a really crappy truck helps the uglier the better
Next don't look at any one , don't talk to any one . The aura is Leave this Guy alone he's trying to survive . No doubt dumpsters are a bit of a sad sap story
otherwise why you there . Plenty of other ways to get scrap (business savvy) but I never minded the Sad Sap way , a nice auto works also but then you look eccentric ( A Nut )
so pick your way and just be invisible . Walk up and just own it , I belong here .
Get yelled at , smile & what ? wait smile & what ? load What ? Look sad - - sad & What ? I'm confused what ?
Look not telling you how to break law . But eventually with persistence the ones with no true power (just a disgruntled worker)
at $14 per hr finally says Fuk it . Next time you see him he's smokin his cig and your doing your thing .
I also worry not of noise , I'm here I belong . That's It

I just got a new truck so I would have to go the "eccentric route".... but I've got no problem trying that. I think I was just unlucky on my first attempt. Might give it a try again when it warms up and some of this snow melts in PA. Thanks!

Originally Posted by greytruck

Sorry buds, but im ganna have to disagree on this..... It works better if you have a nice truck. People dont think your some druggie homeless bum making a mess and breaking stuff. I get all the scraps from my dumpster route cause i wave, say hi and TALK to the people and become "friends". if they are out, i stop and shoot the **** with them. Thats how they ask for your number. Its called getting your foot in the door. Thats how i scored my plumbers and hvac shops. they dont just hand out scraps to mangy ass bum scrappers. they dont want that noise around.

I have gotten a few of my larger jobs by being nice and professional. A few times people have told me they had many people contact them to take away their scrap but I was the nicest, best spoken, and most timely responder.

I think the nicer truck route can be good cause it gives off the vibe of "not being a crackhead drifter" but on the other hand to the OPs point, I feel like people would EXPECT a crackhead drifter to be digging in dumpsters, so it wouldnt raise an eyebrow, where as they may see a nice truck by their dumpster and assume the person is public dumping and come try to start trouble, cause theyd think "this guy has a nice truck, he wouldnt be digging in a dumpster, he must be dumping his **** in my dumpster!"

dumpster are very complicated business

Ill stick to the curb and business contacts for now, but will try the dumpsters again in spring.

Originally Posted by kss

I have gotten a few of my larger jobs by being nice and professional. A few times people have told me they had many people contact them to take away their scrap but I was the nicest, best spoken, and most timely responder.

I think the nicer truck route can be good cause it gives off the vibe of "not being a crackhead drifter" but on the other hand to the OPs point, I feel like people would EXPECT a crackhead drifter to be digging in dumpsters, so it wouldnt raise an eyebrow, where as they may see a nice truck by their dumpster and assume the person is public dumping and come try to start trouble, cause theyd think "this guy has a nice truck, he wouldnt be digging in a dumpster, he must be dumping his **** in my dumpster!"

dumpster are very complicated business

Ill stick to the curb and business contacts for now, but will try the dumpsters again in spring.

Being professional works. When scrapping i talk to people like when i was in retail, "customer service, kill em with kindness." usually i get the "what are you looking for?" i say just scrap and then they are like "oh ok" and some times they have stuff. But then you come across the places that dont want you or anyone around. those are the stay away dumpsters. i still wave to those angry people. one guy that did that to me started putting his stuff next to the dumpster for me cause he probably felt like a ass for yelling and saying hes calling the cops all the time. I kept waving to him if hes out every time i go there. I understand that some dont want us around. if i owned a shop, i wouldnt want people poking around either lol

Try hitting up some dumpsters. now is the time. its cold and the compititon isnt around as much. you can figure out where to go, what dumpsters to hit. go for the gold lolol

Originally Posted by greytruck

Being professional works. When scrapping i talk to people like when i was in retail, "customer service, kill em with kindness." usually i get the "what are you looking for?" i say just scrap and then they are like "oh ok" and some times they have stuff. But then you come across the places that dont want you or anyone around. those are the stay away dumpsters. i still wave to those angry people. one guy that did that to me started putting his stuff next to the dumpster for me cause he probably felt like a ass for yelling and saying hes calling the cops all the time. I kept waving to him if hes out every time i go there. I understand that some dont want us around. if i owned a shop, i wouldnt want people poking around either lol

Try hitting up some dumpsters. now is the time. its cold and the compititon isnt around as much. you can figure out where to go, what dumpsters to hit. go for the gold lolol

Theres 6" of snow and its 21 degrees out RIGHT now, but in the general sense of "now", like maybe next week, I will give it a try. Well see what happens.


>if i owned a shop, i wouldnt want people poking around either lol

You HYPOCRITE! lol... I dont think I would either... so I wouldnt get mad or think badly of anyone who would yell at me for going in their dumpster, I DO understand their point of view/logic. But still..... gotta get me some of that trash gold.