Put A Sign By The Dump!

After finding out the minimum fee to dump at the local landfill was $50... I thought there must be plenty of other people that found that outrageous.
Ideally, I'd have a little place next to the landfill where nice folks would line up to drop off unwanted appliances, which I would offer to recycle for them.
Until that time, i thought about cheaper ways to divert the appliances for my uses.

So I made some cheap signs.

Cardboard from some boxes I had laying around, and a King Size Sharpie, and I was in business.
I just wrote
FREE APPLIANCE DISPOSAL
or
FREE APPLIANCE DROP OFF/PICK UP
and put a few out on the road leading to the dump.
Got a call a little while ago from a guy that has some fridges.
Luckily- the landfill is less than 5 miles from the recycling center.
So I'll just meet him out there and move the fridges from his truck to mine.



if I can find out when the busiest times is- (I'd SWAG that weekends would be good for diverting appliances from folks that don't want to pay the dumping fees), I'd park on the side of the road with a big sign, offering to take and recycle their appliances for them. The recycling yard closes at noon on Saturday, so it's not a perfect plan. I'd rather drive them straight over, instead of having them in the truck over the week end.

But it seems a simple way to pick up some good recyclables.
Give it a try.

Ive actually thought about parking outside the dump and taking all scrap metal maybe giving them a buck or 2 a load

Things must really be differnt up north etc,down here the scrap yards could careless about freon they take it as fast as you can unload it

Originally Posted by Mick

Be careful with refrigerators, AC etc. What are you going to tell the EPA when they ask how you disposed of them? Are you certified for refrigerant recovery? When you advertised, you opened yourself to a lot of liability.

I just have some dinky cardboard sign on the side of the road.
I hope the EPA has better things to do.

2 side notes- I saw a pile of window AC units at the recycling yard and asked the cashier if people were just dumping them at mixed metal prices instead of separating them. It seems the geniuses on the city council passed a law that says the scrap yard can only take AC units that come with a letter from a certified HVAC shop that the freon was recovered.
So what happens- people just dump the AC's on the side of the road, OR the scrap yard just grinds them up as mixed metal and the freon is released anyway.

And years ago, when I did some contract work swapping electric units for gas at apartment complexes, we'd just cut the lines and vent the freon- must've done hundreds of them that way.
Didya notice that the 'scary' news about freon came out at the exact time that DuPont's patent ran out?? but luckily for us, DuPont had a very expensive replacement patented and ready to go.
Yeah for paid lobbyists!!!

I was going to do the same but found out that the dump doesnt charge for metal anymore they scrap it also.

Originally Posted by Mick

I doubt it. The fine is $25,000 per incident or $37,500 per day. There have been several successful prosecutions. You can read about the EPA regs here: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/title6/608/608fact.html

I saw the pile at the scrap yard, and no certified HVAC tech's in sight.

The other alternative is that the AC units would go into a landfill. So the freon's coming out one way or another.

What about the AC in cars that get scrapped??

I wish I would have taken a picture, last week at the scrap yard I saw at least 4 A/C units in the mixed metal pile. They were all still in one piece, which kind of pisses me off because whoever dumped them didn't even get the copper of them.

Yeah, well, prepare to get even angrier. About a week ago, I took SEVEN A/C units to the yard. In my defense, a) this was the pivotal moment that made my mind up that this was what I wanted to do, b) at the time I didn't know about breaking it down for better pay, and c) at the time, I just wanted them out of my house.

The last few times I hit the yard, I see complete appliances sitting there. Nothing broken down or anything. From what I could see, 4 Window AC's, 4 Fridges, 1 Freezer, 4 Washers, 6 stoves, and 1 dryer. Made me sick. I could see that the fridges had something added to the copper pipes, probably what was added so that they could drain freon. Figured everything must be coming from on of the appliance repair places. I checked those places before for the items and told me no. But if you gonna junk them yourself, it doesn't take long to get all the goodies out of it. Up your prices by alot.

Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts

After finding out the minimum fee to dump at the local landfill was $50... I thought there must be plenty of other people that found that outrageous.
Ideally, I'd have a little place next to the landfill where nice folks would line up to drop off unwanted appliances, which I would offer to recycle for them.
Until that time, i thought about cheaper ways to divert the appliances for my uses.

So I made some cheap signs.

Cardboard from some boxes I had laying around, and a King Size Sharpie, and I was in business.
I just wrote
FREE APPLIANCE DISPOSAL
or
FREE APPLIANCE DROP OFF/PICK UP
and put a few out on the road leading to the dump.
Got a call a little while ago from a guy that has some fridges.
Luckily- the landfill is less than 5 miles from the recycling center.
So I'll just meet him out there and move the fridges from his truck to mine.

if I can find out when the busiest times is- (I'd SWAG that weekends would be good for diverting appliances from folks that don't want to pay the dumping fees), I'd park on the side of the road with a big sign, offering to take and recycle their appliances for them. The recycling yard closes at noon on Saturday, so it's not a perfect plan. I'd rather drive them straight over, instead of having them in the truck over the week end.

But it seems a simple way to pick up some good recyclables.
Give it a try.

Not a bad idea. I think I will find the closest dump to me and a couple of Saturday mornings just sit and see what people bring in. If I see appliances are brought in, I will hook up my flatbed, park somewhere nearby and hang out a sign saying I will take the appliances off their hands free.

Originally Posted by Mick

Depending on local laws - but generally removing anything from the dump/landfill etc could be considered theft. Once left at the dump, it becomes their property. Here, metal items go into a separate container. It is then sold at a scrap yard and the proceeds go to the dump (county?).

I agree, too many dumps have found metal to be a cash cow. They can gather it, sell it and it does not fill up thier land. That is why I would set outside the dump, and try to get it before it gets in the dump. I would also offer a little cash to give the folks hauling it incentive to let me have it.

My dump has a sign "no scavenging". Didn't stop me from asking if I could have a Coca Cola merchandiser/reach in cooler. Guy even helped me load it, but said if his boss saw he'd "be in trouble".

Used it as a icebox for drinks out on the patio for BBQ's, then sold it for $100 a few years later, even though it didn't work. Guy didn't care.


So as for enforced...I don't know. I mean what can they do? Just ask you not to salvage scrap. Which to me is stupid, because if people keep throwing metals away, in time we'll be mining the landfills for metals.

Originally Posted by Scrap man

Seems like a good idea. The only problem for me is, the scrap yard is about 45 minutes away. Not sure if it would be worth my time. Also, does anyone know the laws concerning taking metal out of the dump? Is it illegal? And if it is, is it enforced at all?

The idea is to get it before they take it to the dump and pay to dump it.

Would it be worth it if you could park on the side of the road and have pepole give you enough stuff to fill a trailer??