What are the unwritten rules of curbside picking?

[clerkkent]

In your neighborhood, what are the unwritten policies of curbside freebies?

In our 'hood, if you put stuff on the sidewalk, or on the very edge of your property next to the sidewalk, with no signage, its fair game.Some people ask permission to take, many do not.

What about dumpsters? If it is in, or touching, the dumpster, first come first serve. Sometimes, even within spittin' distance it is fair game.

These are my observations of my neighborhood, not what I personally do. I am careful about what I leave outside, and where because of these informal policies. If I'm picking some stuff up , I ask permission to be courteous, but also sometimes the giver has other related stuff to pawn off as well. Recently with all the house repos in our community, the cleanup crews leave the stuff on the driveway or piled in a dumpster, and take off.. there really isn't anyone to ask.

 

[Danimal]

I would never assume a bike on somebody's yard is free...no matter where it is. If it is in a pile with the trash, or there is a "FREE" sign on it, then yes, otherwise I would always ask.

Dumpsters? Yeah, it's trash.

 

[scrumblero]

if its within 10 feet of the street, it'll be gone overnight around here. doesn't really matter what it is, ..

great way to avoid the e-recycling center.. :mrgreen:

 

[yoothgeye]

OK, now y'all are speaking my language.

Here in my town I gotta be quick to be the scrap guys, so I've got most of the trash routes figured out.

In the city about 60% of the people have curbside pickup and the rest have back alley trash pickup. I live on an alley so the trash can stays there, no moving it back and forth to the street. The city picks up like 100% of what you leave on the alley, trash, brush, construction, furniture, tires, etc... There may be some regulations, but pretty much anything will be picked up without limit unless you are a business or something.

Unwritten rules, left on the alley and it's gone, so I watch where my kids leave their bikes. If I am out "collecting" and I know it's trash, I still ask just to start a dialog and possibly open up more doors. I take stuff leaned on trash cans curbside on trash days, but if it's in the yard I just treat it like a kid parked it there and I leave it alone. The scrap guys aren't as nice as me.

When I get the chance I cruise around curbside pickup neighborhoods either the night before their pickup or the morning of, the scrap guys aren't as brazen in these areas. As for alleys, I cruise through them instead of the streets whenever I drive through town because people don't wait for their trash day if they have alley pickup, so you could get lucky any day of the week. Unless I know the people, I don't ask about bikes in backyards seen from the alley, I feel like I'm already in their business just being in their alley (public property, just like any street) but I don't want to seem invasive.

As for the curbside cans, the police around here agree with me, if it's in the trash or beside the can, it's anybody's.

 

[jerrykr]

not many to find around here. I've only picked up 2, and there was no question that they were out with the trash.

Now if I found a kid's bike in good shape, I'd try to ask or leave it.
Kids drop them where ever their attention span changes, and they don't know about our "rules".

 

[Bigcam59]

3 rules I use
Don't make a mess.
If somebody is around ask
if both tires are flat, odds are it's being trashed.

 

[slacker]

We have an unwritten rule in my area; If it is on the curb, it is free. Mostly stuff is put out against a tree, garbage can or utility pole within a few feet of the curb. As this is a college town, frequently you will see "move out piles", especially at the end of semester and before summer break. This tradition has become known as "Hippie Christmas." You will see everyone from scrappers to students to whoever "curb shopping" on those days. I have heard of some amazing finds such as: tons of bikes, frozen turkey (still frozen, rock hard), decent electric guitars, newer game consoles, high end stereos.

Personally, I have scored dozens of bikes, a brand new Kirby upright vacuum, a Cuisinart food processor, a Krups panini grill, and the 50's vintage office chair I am sitting on at the moment. And I am easily forgetting 50 really good finds! :shock:

A couple years ago I saw a ladies Murray space bike on the curb. It had a couple of flats, but was in pretty good shape aside from that. I thought about asking if it was up for grabs, but didn't, assuming that it wouldn't be parked on the curb if the owner wasn't giving it away. I grabbed it, and was no more than a few steps away when I heard an older woman yelling from the porch. My heart sunk, thinking I had just stolen a bike! Worse yet, she really was laying into me, "Don't take that bike! Come back! Come back!" I quickly turned around, all apologetic, ready to do some explaining. Then I head her say, "You don't want that old thing, it's just junk! I haven't ridden it in years!"

So now, after my close call, I ask if I have any question about the "junk status" of a curb find. About 98% of the time it really is junk, but it never hurts to ask.

 

[yoothgeye]

After replying earlier, my friend and I went out biking, after the trail ride we did some alley riding, nothing on this side of town but a couple speaker boxes I needed, so we moved on the rich neighborhood by the lake, these people typically don't throw out much, but there was an after yard sale pile and we got a bunch of nice stuff, no bike stuff, but some things I can sell. Best was a 19" Panasonic TV, had a yard sale price tag of $45 on it... :shock: haha, I just sold one at my sale for $4. Cody said he would grab it for his girl's play room, I was about to pick it up and wondering if I still had a universal remote he could use with it when he found the plastic bag with the owner's manual and remote. Cool.We got some tools, light fixtures, records, an old Kodak film projector with family movies, etc...

 

[Anonymous]

If its a kids bike near the curb...I knock on the door and ask.

Kids leave thier bikes anywhere.

 

[Wildcat]

I live in military housing, so a lot gets left out at the curb. Even though it's a restricted area, local junk people drive around the night before pick up. I make rounds before they do, and make sure the wife isn't aware of it. The shame would be too much for her to bear, and she is watching for more junk bikes to show up. Bikes have been in the bed of my truck for weeks before I take them out and stash them in the garage. I've fixed the flats and repaired the little kids bikes and give them back, they love it, and I'm not the mean old man down the street anymore.

 

[jaysmo]

if its curb side its trash
if someones out side ask.
and dont make a mess leave it like it was cause if i find a mess on my curb side :x i know the feeling so... yea be neat and take what you need i mean it is trash..
i once had a guy see me taking some light fixtures out of his trash asked me what i was doing i told him what i was there for as the trash man rolled and this guy tried to sell me what i was pulling out the trash.. :roll: the trash man rolled up gave me the :wink: dumped it all in the back of the truck and when i got home it was on my curb side.... I love my old trash guys the used to get tips and Christmas presents from my mother in law... So they always looked out for me.
OH I did find a MT bike in my mew apt trash site.. nice bearings clean front wheel tubes seat post handle bars and the rest went right back. :mrgreen:

 

[yoothgeye]

Glad some people have mentioned making a mess. I'm a little perturbed at the moment at some of my local scrap guys. I purposely leave things out for them so they can see it and grab it easily, even things that can fit in the can I lean against it or place on top (copper wire or pipe, etc...), anyway, a friend and I saw an old projection style bigscreen tv, we went and got it and brought it to the shop and grabbed the screen (to make a huge magnifier to fry ants) and looked at the guts of it, then placed it in the alley for pickup. I went away for the weekend and came home and the TV had been knocked over. When I looked at it the scrap guys had come and ripped the circuit boards and all out of the TV body and left the TV out partially in the drive of the alley, it was a week later that I saw they had dumped all the screws in the alley and I had one in my car tire! :x I've been looking for them to have a little talk.

 

[ozzmonaut]

In my area two things work against me. Our unemployment rate in my county is 66%, maybe higher by now. So anything metal will usually be taken to the scrapyard by the owner. Nothing gets thrown out if it has a scrap value. Second of all, our city trash collection service won't take bicycles. If you leave it by the can it will still be there later, once they even push-rolled a bike carelessly into my yard. So you don't see free bikes, ever. I usually just check the scrap yard. Luckily my dad is an exterminator and when he is at peoples houses, they offer him crazy stuff. All of his appliances and furniture, as well as mine, were free. Cedar chests, cabinets, armoires. And he asks about any bikes he sees and grabs any freebees and saves them for me. He lives in an area where people will throw out anything, and if they have something sitting, they just want it gone. Most people tell him "You haul it, you can have it". He once purchased a 63 Impala 4-dr from the original owner in showroom shape with all the brochures, etc, for $1700. I've considered moving to his area just for the deals and free stuff.

 

[Slingshot Dude]

no rules around here but if its missing parts, tire are flat, or its realy rusty, its proly TRASH! :mrgreen: