Thinking "inside" the box... last nights pick ups :)

SO some of the local city councils here in Melbourne do a once a year "Hard Wate" collection.

Basically everyone dumps there unwanted crap on the kerb, the city collect it, process it, recycle it etc...

You guys would LOVE IT!!! but no one here really makes a go of it, scrap wise...

I could have loaded a truck and trailer at least 10 times last night!! But I only have a small sedan at the moment.

I counted 12 fridges, 8 washers, 4 dryers and 11 microwaves in just the first street!

...anyway, here is my point While cruising around looking for towers (I only got 9 last night caus it was pouring rain) and snipping off appliance cords (42 and counting) I see a neat stack of boxes, all the same. I wonder what is in them, so go and investigate.

BINGO! Each box is full of alluminium down light fascias. These type have been obsolete over here for a while, so they are scrap value only.







Net weight per box is 10kg (22lb) and I got 7 boxes





So a nice $70 aud payday right there. It was an ally night, here is the other ally stuff I got.

window frame
lid from patio heater
broken street light (weighs about 45lb)
bike rims





not bad for a hours work while driving home from my 'regular' job

so don't just focus on the metal you 'can' see, look at things that seem a little out of the ordinary.

Cheers

Nice score, when they have it all boxed up and ready to go.

Good looking out!

Sounds like some easy pickin's there.

Originally Posted by injunjoe

Nice score, when they have it all boxed up and ready to go.

Good looking out!

Sounds like some easy pickin's there.

has alot to do with the economy, still strong here (compared to other countries) so not many scrappers. 18mths ago scrappers were everywhere! Wen steel was up at $380 - $420 a ton over here. now its at 220 - 240 locally so many gave up

My local hard watse collection is mid November so I will be filling my trailer at least twice a day for 2 or 3 weeks and making a nice stock pile

remembering that I work nights, so I am cruising around at like 1.30 - 2.30 am...and people won't take kindly to me banging and clanging dryers and stuff into a steel trailer lol!!

Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

If you had a way of picking all of that stuff up, do you have somewhere to store it?

If not, get a storage unit and rent a moving truck for 1/2 day.

Yeah, I live on 15 acres, so storage is not a problem. Just read the post above for other info

Thanks

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

Microwaves are good for 1Kg of copper, so's a fridge, but you have to cut the compressor apart.

Considering, I'd go for microwaves first as they take up less space.

Keeping with the theme of the thread I say the microwaves could be stacked "inside" the fridges thus taking up less space to haul back to the shop. Killing two birds with one stone.

Originally Posted by Scrap-It

here in salt lake city if you get in those piles it's theft. once it's on the curb it belongs to the city and you will get a ticket and even go to jail. keep a note of what day of the year it is and next year go back there about a week before and start knocking on doors. I do! I tell them i'll help carry the other junk to the curb if i can have the metal. I get big loads!

We have a local facebook page about it, and peeps keep others in the loop!

Well, they arrested a guy in QLD for this about 3 mths ago, he picked up a broken vaccum cleaner for parts to fix his own, as he had just lost his job.... went to court, Judge threw it out and told the cops to go and catch some 'real criminals' LOL!!!!! it got talked about in the media for ages, no one had issue with it.

There is a loop hole in the laws here that means that the definitions are foggy, you (by the letter of the law) could be fined for actually putting the junk out in the first place, as this constitutes 'illegal dumping' but obviously the council do not persue this. Its a money making excercise for the city, think of the tons and tons of metal they haul each year!

I was actually chatting to a couple of officers while getting fuel on my way home, they said " you must have something heavy in your boot (trunk), hope its not a body mate?" lol!!

I said, "nah mate, been out hard rubbish picking" the other cop says, "how'd ya go?" then we swapped stories, and this cop said still has a mountain bike he trash picked last year.

My point is, everyone has a look or a pick through... its accepted over here. So much so, that my local newspaper run an article when the collection starts, and last year they re-maned it "The Annual Melbourne Swap Meet"

Originally Posted by injunjoe

Keeping with the theme of the thread I say the microwaves could be stacked "inside" the fridges thus taking up less space to haul back to the shop. Killing two birds with one stone.

I like that!! All the fridges have the doors removed before they are put out....

It makes sense, as over here the law is that you MUST remove the door from a fridge or freezer when you put it out (Safety issue) Some little boy almost died caus he was oplaying in an old fridge and the door stuck closed..

here is the FB group..

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/183292451629/

sure is. I only did about 10 streets just near kew Junction mate.

tomorrow in the day I am hitting all the lane ways in and around Studley park rd, and Johnston st Abbotsford..

Originally Posted by Dugong

holyhighwater! i went there is morning, i must have seen 30 TV's and monitors in 4 streets! i was pretty pi**ed at just going on my bike to check it out! tonite i must take car

Do it man! There is more stuff now, the pick ups start next Monday, so get in before then

This Kew Hard Rubbish has been good to me.

(I am limited as I drive a car, so drive past all the appliances except computers and microwaves.)

- History - I once had a Boss that was a complete A - Hole!! I mean this guy was a Psycho with wild mood swings etc... Anyway, he once said to me - in relation to sales - "drive a different road, go home a different way, you never know what you will stumble across"

We, hate to say it but the F &% ker was right

So I took a different rd home from work and here's what I see



MOTORS!

There are 6 in all, they are 10 pounders plus the heavy steel blower housings. the guy who lived at the house was obviously a HeVac tech, so slipped a flyer in the mail box for good measure

Also grabbed a street light, these are great, about 30 - 40lb all up, and a mix of cast ally, with some gold laced boards in the control head, and extruded ally brackets, and some beefy stainless screws etc.. Oh, and a pile of ally cookware.



This is the third one I have grabbed, someone hits a pole, the light smashes on the ground, the city council replace the pole and light and leave the old bits there for weeks...thats my Cue!!


..and here's it all loaded with some microwaves from the other night, ready to go over to the scrapping shed.





Cheers!

Adam.

....If i was there...I would of called into work sick...found people with trucks and trailer (pay them) and tell them to go find blank...I would of picked up every thing before the city trucks where able to!

city workers = I thought there should of stuff out here...are we to soon? lets call boss.
boss = whats the issue?
city workers = I think its tomorrow we need to be out here...did we get the date wrong?
boss = no its today you should see everything out
city worker = There is not one thing anywhere.

that day will come my friend, this is just one suburb, there are another 4 suburbs nearer to me to be done by X-mas

Nice haul Adam. Hard to imagine that much scrap on the side of the road. You have it made!