For you garbage collectors out there...

[rharkins]

We have roadside garbage collection where we currently live. I heard the truck idling at the gate for quite a while this week, so I looked out the window and saw the loader and the driver digging through my garbage as it went into the truck. I had cleaned out the garage last weekend, so there might have been some attractive goodies in there.

Still, it makes me very nervous to have these guys digging through my trash before it goes into the truck. I shred all my financial documents, so I'm not really worried about identity theft. The garbage company is a respected local company, but I don't know how much they screen their employees.

Am I being paranoid? Is the privilege of picking goodies from the trash a bonus for employees doing a less than glamorous and under-appreciated job?

 

[George2615]

Since you cleaned out the garage they were probably looking for some useful treasure (tools, parts, metal etc.). One mans trash is another mans treasure as the saying goes.
Local guys in my area do the same. One trash guy picked up a gas powered weed eater the previous owner threw out. Only thing wrong was the carb was gummed up from sitting. Another picked up a good TV. The owner had bought a new flat screen and put the regular working TV to the curb. Don't be too paranoid.

 

[jayste]

I agree with George. They probably thought you had some treasures from the garage cleanup. Some will probably look for metal as well to sell to the scrap yard.

 

[brin]

I disagree...be paranoid..it is your trash and you contracted to have it hauled away not sorted through...do you want your garbage sorted. Do you know that law enforcement does this routinely when they suspect someone of something..You can learn a lot about a person or a family by going through their trash - that is why movie stars and others are very protective of how their trash is removed. I would call the company and complain and let them know you will be watching and a repeat of this will mean cancellation. Be careful.

 

[jayste]

What's to stop them from looking through it when they get out of sight. A lot of the time they leave it in the back "dump" area until it gets full and then cycle it through. If you think they're not doing it your mistaken. The idea is to NOT put items in your trash that can be used to identify you. The op has already stated he shreds his documents and is careful to not put in personal items. My guess is that even if you did call and report it they're still going to do it because they aren't being monitored by the company.

 

[brin]

Well you've got a point Jay...just means we all have to be careful in this era of ID theft..you make a real good point - indeed they can just go around the corner and sort through it but to stay on schedule they can only do that so many times...I still think letting the company know you don't appreciate it would go a long way to stop them from going through yours.

 

[jayste]

Well you've got a point Jay...just means we all have to be careful in this era of ID theft..you make a real good point - indeed they can just go around the corner and sort through it but to stay on schedule they can only do that so many times...I still think letting the company know you don't appreciate it would go a long way to stop them from going through yours.

I guess it's worth a try.

 

[jinman]

I think if I drove a garbage truck I'd feel like I had the right to sort through anything I put into it. What if I put something in there that explodes or contaminates all my garbage so they won't accept it at the landfill?

About two years ago, our garbage collector had motor oil dripping from the back of his truck after picking up garbage on another road about 2 miles from my house. As he stopped at my house, he noticed the oil running out of the truck. Somebody must have disposed of at least 5 gallons of motor oil in their trash. The driver had to stop his truck and call in a cleanup crew to come out and clean up the truck and also scrape all the oil soaked gravel off the road and replace it with clean gravel. The cost for the equipment and crew just for that event was probably several thousand dollars.

I think it's up to me to make sure my identity is protected and not put that responsibility on the garbage guy. The day I tell my garbage guy he can't look at my trash is probably the day he will drive away and tell me to keep it. I think if I drove a truck, I'd feel the same way.

 

[Kays Supply]

We don't have a choice when it comes to garbage haulers. The city contracts them and bills you with your water and sewer. Payback can be terrible. If the truck guy gets in trouble, he can leave you quite a mess each time he comes by your place. Or just skip you a few times a month. Is it really worth it? It's garbage.

 

[MossRoad]

... I looked out the window and saw the loader and the driver digging through my garbage as it went into the truck....

You still have two man crews? Must be a union job.

None of the trash haulers around here have two man crews anymore. They changed all of the cans to the ones that can be auto-loaded from the cab. You just have to park the can near the street with the handle facing the house so they can grab it with the lift arm. The only time the guy gets out of the cab is when you put out extra bags next to the can.

As for looking through your trash... forget about it. What's stopping anyone from looking through it once you put it out there? It is trash. Let it go.

Just be sure to shred or burn all documents with important numbers and info. We fill two or three of those multi-pocket boxes every year and keep our documents in there. We number them by year. After 8 years, we go through them, make sure no owner's manuals, warranties, etc... that should be kept for eternity are in there and burn the rest. There are usually too many items for the shredder to be practical, so we burn them and use the ashes in our garden.

 

[MarkV]

Scavenging is part of a sanitation workers life. After all it isn't the most exciting career you could get into. My brother started on a truck 15 year ago and has now moved to a management job with one of the international companies. You would not believe some of the things he came home with over the years. It is really amazing what people throw away. I find it hard to believe anyone would feel their privacy is being violated after they put it in a can on the street.

MarkV

 

[PILOON]

My trash driver told me once that he collected approx $500/m of trashed copper wire!
He'd store it on the passenger side of the cab on the floor.

I once picked up a vaccume cleaner that only needed a new plug.

A fiberglass rowboat that merely needed 1/2 hr of resin work on the transom.

A sailboat less mast and sail which I planned on using (stashing in woods) for a fishing scow on a remote lake, however two weeks later the owner tossed the sail and mast so it is now sailing happily on our lake at my rental property.

You just never know, some folks just plain don't attempt to repair anything now-a-days.
Too much disposible income I guess!

 

[Stimw]

In this PC correct, Go green, Tree huggin' world the guys are Recycling!
I used to cruise my neighbor hood on garbage day. I have gotten 25hp Garden tractor (had sign on it "free to good home") weed eaters, air compressors, water pumps and more that I can't remember right now. Around here they will set stuff out days before so someone can get it. Since times have gotten tough there are people that get up real early and I don't find good stuff anymore.
A friend of mine even set out a Big Screen TV and within an hour someone was asking if they could have it and it's condition.
Way back when there were Dumps you could go there and find all kinds of treasures. Now that was recycling! Not this bin at the curb nonsense we have now.

 

[deere755]

I remember my Dad cleaning out his closet of old and unwanted clothes. He took what he thought was the good stuff to good will and threw the rest out only to find the garbage man trying on some of his clothes. He said it seemed everytime he saw the garbage man he had on one of his old shirts. I wouldn't worry about about them going through your stuff. Probably found a treasure in there.

 

[Bird]

None of the trash haulers around here have two man crews anymore. They changed all of the cans to the ones that can be auto-loaded from the cab. You just have to park the can near the street with the handle facing the house so they can grab it with the lift arm. The only time the guy gets out of the cab is when you put out extra bags next to the can.

I can't say I'm looking forward to that. We have Waste Management weekly garbage pickup and these guys will take anything two men can get into the truck. The driver hops out to help the guy on the back when there's big items or a lot of stuff at one location. Some of us put our garbage out just in plastic bags; others set their garbage cans out to be dumped. And there's a wide variety of both bags and cans. Brush is supposed to be tied in bundles no more than 4' long and 60 pounds, but they don't even pay much attention to that.

Waste Management provided their own containers for the recycling; same day pickup, same kind of truck, just a different truck. As far as I know, they only tried the one man truck with a lift arm for two weeks in my neighborhood. In fact, that truck broke the hinge on the lid on my recycling can, so I called and they brought me a new one.

And I'm among those who have no problem with garbage men (or anyone else) going through my garbage. If I cared what happened to it, or who sees it, I wouldn't put it out there for disposal. Of course, I do make regular use of my paper shedder.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I think the rule of thumb around here is that when it's on your property, it's your property. When it's out for garbage pickup, it's public property, not subject to your privacy or protection.

On the other side of the coin, I'd rather see someone getting good use out of my discards than to see it go to a landfill. I do make sure that my identity is protected from theft before putting anything in the trash. That part's my responsibility.

 

[Travelover]

I knew of a guy (second hand info) that was a suburban city garbage pickup guy whose garage was so full of rescued treasures that he could just close the door. It only seems natural to save stuff that is perfectly good or in need of a minor repair.

Around here, it is also common for folks to put free stuff on the curb a couple of days prior to trash pick up. It is common for me to pick that stuff up from time to time. If it is no good, I just put it back out with my own trash. Lots of lawnmowers on the curb just have a sheared flywheel key.

 

[LBrown59]

My trash driver told me once that he collected approx $500/m of trashed copper wire!
He'd store it on the passenger side of the cab on the floor.

I once picked up a vaccume cleaner that only needed a new plug.

A fiberglass rowboat that merely needed 1/2 hr of resin work on the transom.

A sailboat less mast and sail which I planned on using (stashing in woods) for a fishing scow on a remote lake, however two weeks later the owner tossed the sail and mast so it is now sailing happily on our lake at my rental property.

You just never know, some folks just plain don't attempt to repair anything now-a-days.
Too much disposible income I guess!

My income seems to have been disposed of before it ever comes in.

 

[MossRoad]

I can't say I'm looking forward to that. We have Waste Management weekly garbage pickup and these guys will take anything two men can get into the truck. The driver hops out to help the guy on the back when there's big items or a lot of stuff at one location. Some of us put our garbage out just in plastic bags; others set their garbage cans out to be dumped. And there's a wide variety of both bags and cans. Brush is supposed to be tied in bundles no more than 4' long and 60 pounds, but they don't even pay much attention to that.

Waste Management provided their own containers for the recycling; same day pickup, same kind of truck, just a different truck. As far as I know, they only tried the one man truck with a lift arm for two weeks in my neighborhood. In fact, that truck broke the hinge on the lid on my recycling can, so I called and they brought me a new one.

And I'm among those who have no problem with garbage men (or anyone else) going through my garbage. If I cared what happened to it, or who sees it, I wouldn't put it out there for disposal. Of course, I do make regular use of my paper shedder.

We dumped (pun intended) Waste Management two years ago. We had them for our home trash pickup AND they had the contract for our local mandatory, involuntary recycling program. For 10 years they charged quite a bit for a little 20 gallon recyclables tub once every two weeks. We could fill it in 4-5 days. A new company got the contract for less money and 90 gallon wheeled toters. On the last day W.M. was supposed to pick up recycleables, the guy on the route pretty much did a crummy job and dumped lot of the contents of the tubs on each person's driveway on the entire route. Then I got my trash bill and they wanted to charge us to "process" our payment check. They had great service with a 65 gallon cart, but that "processing" fee to take our money really set me off. I called them and told them I was done at the end of the month. Well, before the end of the month, there was a snowstorm and they didn't pick up the trash on Thursday, or Friday, or until the following Thursday. The other trash companies picked up the next day, or on Saturday. W.M. said they don't work on Saturdays. Really, I think they got to be the 500 pound gorilla and figured they could do whatever they wanted and a lot of smaller companies stepped up and took a lot of their business. Most of our street was W.M. for years, and now there are very few purple toters by the street.

We switched to a company from Michigan that provided a 90 gallon container and if we paid by the year, we got one month free. It was considerably less than W.M. Then about 6 months into the contract, we got a note that said they traded an Indiana company for their Michigan customers and vice versa to eliminate overlapping territories. We got a bill for 95 cents. I called them and they waived that fee. When the time came this January to renew, the new company upped the annual fee by about $65.00. There was some fuel surcharge on there and no break for annual payment. They refused to come back to the previous rates, soooo.... we switched to a local company that provides a 90 gallon container + up to 5 of your own bags + free recycling pickup if you want it + a discount if you pay annually for a great price. They will also take furniture and appliances if you let them know ahead of time. Great service, local company, real person answers the phone, too. I hope they stick around.

 

[MossRoad]

I think the rule of thumb around here is that when it's on your property, it's your property. When it's out for garbage pickup, it's public property, not subject to your privacy or protection.

Here you will be charged with theft if you pull stuff out of the recycle tubs. Once you put it in the tub and put it by the street, all of the contents belong to the recycling company.

Don't know about the trash, though.