Curb Shopping Causing Towns To Loose Money?

I have said this about you tube videos that practice this and gloat. Without permission it's stealing. The town city district or other scraps also . It's like taking from the dump. lol free pickings .Now those that lurk near the dump and take or buy the metal/ electronic scrap before it enters the property from the resident or haulers well that's just hungry but legal. A sweet deal if you do it. Though it may be borderline activity. Imho . Curb shoppers need prior permission. Maybe agreement. Ijs

You need to read the town/state/county regulations/laws regarding who owns the "trash". And the legality of taking this "trash". E.g., in my locale, it is illegal to take items from the blue Recycle Barrels provided by the City. And dumpster diving is generally not legal.

I'm going to try to tread lightly here on this topic. First I really don't like anybody going through my personal trash. As my GF puts it, There's things in there that I don't think is anyone's business (I agree with her on that). If I think I no longer have use for a item and someone else may, I set it on the curb (not in can). I actually want a curb shopper to get those items (not trash company). Now for the city and the trash company, F them! There in bed together, I have lived in the same city for twenty five years, my trash fee is $21.47 every month. Now round that to $20 even and multiply it by 10k and that's $200,000 a month. Now I'm being really conservative, there's way more than 10,000 homes. It really don't matter that's not where trash company makes there money, the big haul is the commercial trash. Now the trash company will typically kick back to the city 10 to 15% for the exclusive rights for that commercial trash ($300,000 to $500,000) per year. So what's the trash company's making on the commercial trash (not hard to figure out). Now do they recycle, very little, just enough to make it look good. Why would they want to, they like trash, they charge commercial by weight!, by trip and by the tip. Twenty five years we have the same company and almost the exact same city council. Now who do you think is donating the maximum amount to each council member year after year?

Unfortunately it is illegal around me. The municipalities have tied it all up in RED TAPE by saying first, once it at the curb it is "town property" and second they have a huge list of what people can put in their trash, when they can put it out, and how much they can put out. They actually charge people $20 to get into the local facility to dump their appliances, tvs, etc. It's a total cash grab.

Fortunately, its a municipal bylaw, so the cops couldn't care less and it falls on a municipal officer to catch people curb shopping.

But I think your right, benny, we scrappers make sure not only everything gets recycled better than the towns, we will also re-purpose something or sell it while the town tosses working and non-working items into the trash.

This article made me so angry that if I wasn't sitting in studyhall I would throw a chair. I hate how they compare us people who steal it. But I also have a question, if we ask the homeowner if we can have what they put out on the curb would it still be city property and considered stealing?

It's a "grey" area if on the curb, going to be hard for a court to get a conviction. Now if it's in the can, you have a good chance of being in violation of a city code. City code violation and state law are two different things. My problem with city code, is special interest group had that code put on the books (trash company). I should also clarify, not every city/municipality is served by these large trash corporations I'm talking about. Some of you have good reputable and companies doing a good job. I'm talking about very large, crooked and outright scandalous mega corporations getting rich running corrupt companies (they do exist).

"Live Free or Die"

WASTE MAFIA CHARGED IN NEW YORK
17 January 2013 According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the main Indictment charges 12 defendants under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) for conspiring to participate in a racketeering enterprise that asserted illegal and extortionate control over commercial waste hauling companies.
This is a excerpt from article I found In Waste Management World (a trade magazine)

In my area, an in others I scrap at times, the laws are simple..if in a can, don't touch it. Outside of the can, it's fair game. Recycle totes from the county/whoever are also off limits. Anything tossed on the curb on it's own, whether in a bag, or not is fair game.

Just like dumpster diving. Here it's legal if it's not fenced off, or lacking trespassing signs, etc.

Not all areas are the same, for good or bad. I could see a town/county getting pissed if someone was coming along an pulling from residents trash cans, or out of the recycle bins. Those are all big no no's for my area. Again tho..if sitting freely on the curb outside of a can or bin, it's fair game.

Sirscrapalot - YMMV

Nothing on the books around here yet. Recycle bins are off limits...but anything left out of the bins will get taken for trash.

Recycle truck won't touch it. I've been right behind them with the trash truck on the next street.

Nothing like a morning game of beat the trash truck. Neither one will touch a microwave though...which is fine by me.

Hey HOBO, re-read that, it states put out for collection BY a collection agency, it literally means dumpster diving NOT curbside. I'm not a lawyer but there is a reason the law MUST either be broad so as to cover all possibilities or concise to eliminate particulars. Seems this is elimination of a particular activity. There's some much needed clarification because last time I checked most homeowners aren't employed by the collection agency at the time they set out their trash.