Verge Pickups

[Julie-Ann]

I was just listening to talk back radio and heard that some councils in Perth are fining people for picking up stuff from verge rubbish days. So if you see a great treasure just lying on the verge waiting for the rubbish truck to come and crush it - you are not allowed to rescue it:(.
Do you think you should be able to collect stuff others have thrown away?
Have you ever picked something up?

You can probably tell what I think already. To fine people is crazy. It is simply recycling and if someone wants to restore something that someone else considers rubbish I see no harm in it. I think the councils need to worry about approving housing plans quicker and spend less time handing out silly fines. Oh I am in a passionate mood today lol:D

[sunnyroadmum]

Well, you know what I feel about that, having just recently found some beauties in our council junk collection.

I can't see what the problem is - why do they care?

And I am feeling particularly fiesty about councils today - just had a fight with the waste management lady at our council because they didn't collect my junk - all because there were a few non-compliant bits (in a separate pile because I wasn't sure if they were allowed) and because it was a "mess" - its a junk collection for god's sake, of course its a mess!

[Julie-Ann]

I actually thought of you Sunnyroadmum and Hbfotografic when I heard this on the radio. I knew both of you have had some amazing success lately with what you found on the verge. If you have some photos of what you picked up we would love to see them. I could just visualise these lovely items being crushed and destroyed forever:(. Or maybe they wouldn't have picked them up because that person's rubbish was messy:rolleyes:

[tryingtodecorate]

Hmmm, maybe the Councils are trying to stop it because they will lose $$ on re-selling it themselves? Yes our old local council used to have staff to ramage through from the pick ups and pick out things to sell and the Council gets the money!

I think if it's out in the street it's fair game :D

Add me to the list of people in a "passionate" mood today. I just had an interesting conversation with the developer of our Estate :mad:

[Susie]

Oh i love to see what other people are putting out as junk, as they say "one mans junk is another mans brass", or something like that anyway. not quite sure how it goes now.

Surely this is saving the council money by other people taking bits and pieces, leaving more room in their truck for the real junk.

We used to have a shop at our tip in the UK, all the stuff that wasnt broken or mouldy, it was great for the shabby chic ers, they had a field day.

[Lorraine]

Well in good ole Mildura, there is no such thing as putting things out which are no longer needed????????????? Did make me laugh though when I saw in the paper a few weeks ago, some people had been given an award for putting correct recycling items in their bins. Does this mean they have nothing better to do than go through everyone's recycling bins:D

[Julie-Ann]

Lorraine that's so funny- I can picture them emptying our recycling bins to see what's in them.
Susie I am notorious for getting expressions wrong and putting 2 expressions together ( I think that's just being creative though). But I think the expression is one man's junk is another man's treasure. But knowing me I could be completely wrong:D
I haven't seen a council junk shop in the southern suburbs of Perth for decades. If the rubbish was going to shop then I wouldn't have a problem but to just crush it is ridiculous.
I guess noone had better get in the way of us passionate people today or god help them. I hope you gave the estate developer a piece of your mind TTD.

[Lorraine]

Julie-Ann I was thinking the same when I saw the announcement in the paper. How stupid. :D

[hbfotografic]

I can answer this one :)

Basically, what a lot of councils find is that lovely homeowners neatly put out their unwanteds, stacking them as per council requirements ( ours issues a brochure each year on the how-to's - no doors on fridges/stoves etc .. no dangerous/explosive items .. no items exceeding .. height.. width etc )

AND THEN

Some feral comes along and fossicks through, strewing rubbish all along the nature strip, breaking some glass, accidentally knocking some things off the strip into the road .. etc etc...

It's potentially dangerous to the council collectors, dangerous to pedestrains, dangerous to passing vehicles .. and yes, I have seen this sort of messy behaviour firsthand.

I'm pretty sure it is illegal in my council area too, and I kind of like it like that. It means only the serious bargainhunter will dare it, and I am always SO careful not to make any mess, and after extracting my item(s) that I restack anything moves in exactly the same way I found it.

I also like the way I live in an area largely not of the scavenging kind - ie: we are of a nice socio-economic majority, which means the stuff I get is GOOD ( ie: they should/could sell it on eBay, their loss, my gain ), and i'm not competing with anyone else, as there is no way they would let any CHUCKOUT JUNK enter their homes. lol.

That said, some of my prized items, that get the most appreciative comments, are 2ndhand eBay items, or from secondhand shops, or rubbish pickup. My girlfriends are variably titliated, appreciative, and HORRIFIED, depending on who it is.

I have one g/f of the 'only new, from a reputable shop, with a respected brandname' type, and I just *love* telling her where I got a particular item. The recoil is almost physical - hee hee.. :D

[Julie-Ann]

If they are making a big mess then I can understand the council's reaction. I have never actually seen that happen in our area. We must have neat scavengers:D. I guess it is a case where a few people have ruined it for all because the government authority has felt the need to come down hard on all of us.
My tip would be if you have something that could be valued by someone else don't throw it out on verge collection day. Wait for another day and stick it out the front (but not on the verge or you might get into trouble) with a FREE sign on it. Unless you live in a very isolated area I think you will find it is taken very quickly. We do this frequently. The funniest time was when we wanted to get rid of a pine desk that just needed revarnishing. Mr16 and I dragged it out to the front and put the FREE sign on it, then we went out for 1 hour. By the time we got back it was gone. The amazing thing was this desk was so heavy it would take 2 strong men to lift it and it would only fit in a ute or trailer. So did 2 strong men in an empty ute just drive past by coincidence and want a pine desk?:confused: