Watch what you throw away at the car wash!

[ColonelPanic]

It was raining tonight, so I stopped by this one car wash that has a nice canopy over the vacuuming area. I've been seeing this whacked out bum at practically every car wash for a few years now, this one I was at tonight seems to be his "home base" as he is usually there most of the day... He drives around in this sweet S-10 with a zillion "support the troops" ribbons all up and down both sides for the entire length of the truck, then on the back. He's quite the patriotic one! The back end scrapes the ground from the weight of the bed full of garbage or whatever is in those white plastic grocery bags that he collects. There's grocery bags occupying ever bit of the truck except for a small portion around the driver's seat. They're all over the dash, on the floor, on the seat, in behind the seat, etc. He drives around so often and I see him out at all hours of the day or night, I have to wonder if he even has a home!I've seen him before going through the trash cans, so I figured this guy must be an employee, right? Nope! He wasn't emptying the trash, he was just sifting through that crap and bagging up things that interest him. It's really obvious he's up to something being that I saw him late at night at half a dozen other car washes owned by different people/companies throughout the last few years. Tonight, I was minding my own business, just got done throwing a couple empty bottles of water out when this guy walks over to the trash can right where I was at and starts digging through it. Uh, ok. It takes nads to go digging through a trash can right when someone is there watching from only a couple feet away. Anyway, I guess I didn't throw away anything of value to him. But sure enough, this OTHER creepy guy shows up and starts digging through every other trash can. Woah, the one bum that goes through the garbage has competition? WHAT THE??? I got the hell out of that car wash and went to another... Next time I see the guy with the S-10, I'll grab a picture of that truck, it's hilarious! But the fact that he is driving around with things that other people threw out of their cars is just fricken disturbing. I'm surprised he's gotten away with it this long. If you're just looking for bottles and cans (which he seems to do that as well,) sure, whatever. But don't start digging papers out of the trash and hanging onto them. Wierdo! There's a case (or 10,000) of identity theft for ya just waiting to happen. So, next time you go to the car wash, don't thow anything out that may be of value to someone else. Who knows, somebody like this guy could be at your town!

[Jahntassa]

Sadly, dumpster diving can be profitable. And sometimes so can trash diving. If you live in a state where they recycle cans, people can make a living off getting recylcables and turning them in. There's a guy that goes around collecting cardboard all day and makes a living off it around here.Not to mention I pulled a brand new battery backup worth $170 out of a dumpster once, thing still works great two years later.

[ColonelPanic]

He won't get x cents per can here like he can in other states, but he does have the option of collecting them all and selling them... So I'd guess that's where he gets his gas money.

[damronjr]

You see that ALL the time around here as there are lots of homeless here. They take cans, plastics, glass, etc... and who knows what else. They have to survive somehow, and as the saying goes, "one mans trash is another mans treasure!" You also see them all over the town with various shopping carts to tow all their things around. They often have multiple bags of cans, bottles, etc... all over and in the carts, at least this guy still had a truck to drive! I can't say much, if it weren't for my wife I'd probably be in the same situation!

[Vibr8tr]

Yeah, any one that has been to Fayetteville knows how bad people are here. We have Bums EVERYWHERE. You can't go to any gas station after dark without at least one guy comeing up telling you a sob story about how his kid is in the hospital and he just ran out of gas, and he needs a few dollars to get him there. An the dumpster diggers are around too. I always see them pushing thier shopping carts around town, selling things to people.There is one guy that every nice day he sets up a little "yard sale" in this empty parking lot next to a car wash and sells everything he finds. I never stopped but someday I will have to see what he is all about.I know that sometimes it's hard to get a job, but at what point are these guys going to say "ok, enough is enough, I can make decent money collecting trash for the city", or something. I have sympathy for them to a point.... but at some point they need to help themselves out,

[Atomb]

with today's copper/aluminum/general metal prices, somebody can do well collecting scrap metal.had a story on the news here about a guy making a couple hundred bucks a day collecting copper wire, etc. around the city.

[engineertwin2]

Around here, there is problems with theft of copper wire and copper plumbing at new site construction.But think of the bright side - if the bums are gonna go through the trash picking out recyclables, then they are helping us all out in a way. Just heed CP's warning and be wary of what you wantonly toss out.

[Raven]

As of now I am using a microwave, lawnmower, snowblower, chainsaw, dehumidifier and vacuum cleaner, all of which I found on the side of the street on garbage day. They are all in good to mint condition and each had only a small repair necessary to work 100%. Just because it is with the garbage does not mean it is garbage.

[VforVIBE]

Quote, originally posted by ColonelPanic »I'm surprised he's gotten away with it this long. If you're just looking for bottles and cans (which he seems to do that as well,) sure, whatever. But don't start digging papers out of the trash and hanging onto them. Wierdo! He's not doing anything illegal, once someone puts something in the trash, they forfeit ownership.

[Sputnik]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »He's not doing anything illegal, once someone puts something in the trash, they forfeit ownership.Apparently here in Ottawa, you can be charged by the city for going through someone's bluebox because once its in the recycling bin at the end of the driveway its the city's. Crazy stuff.

[808 Vibes]

Quote, originally posted by engineertwin2 »Around here, there is problems with theft of copper wire and copper plumbing at new site construction.YES!! Here they've gone so far as to climb roofs to get the copper trims off, steal copper fixtures from public park bathrooms, high voltage control boxes, DIG UP copper wires that are needed to LIGHT UP a section of our part of the freeway! C.P.: how it works is we're charged 6 CENTS per glass bottle/can/plastic bottle, but get back 5.

[TJinPgh]

Quote, originally posted by VforVIBE »He's not doing anything illegal, once someone puts something in the trash, they forfeit ownership.Hmmm, I'd be curious to see the law book where that's written.If it is, I have problems with it. If it's in MY trash, it's still on my property until the salvage company comes and takes it. And, I believe there ARE laws against rummaging through trash here in PA for that very reason.As for at a car wash, contrary to popular opinion, car washes, restaurants, grocery stores, department stores, etc, are NOT public places. They are places of public accommodation, which is entirely different. Just as the owner of such places can post signs prohibiting loitering, they can limit use of their facilities to those actually USING the facilities.Dumpster diving is not a sanctioned use for most businesses.

[CAN-AWD-VIBE]

Quote, originally posted by HawaiiPontiacLover »C.P.: how it works is we're charged 6 CENTS per glass bottle/can/plastic bottle, but get back 5. what a rip... I know it's only a penny, but we pay 5 and get 5 back. Thats only fair.

[eSSjAy]

can I just say... CREEEEEEPY!!!

[vibeseller]

Here in Vancouver, we actually have a program where the Binners as they are called, can go to city hall, get registered (for free) and the city provides a rubber wheeled cart for them to collect their treasures with. It all stems from the number of complaints from area residents about the noise that shopping carts make with 200 or so cans and bottles in them. We also have a dedicated police unit that tracks down copper thieves and the like by hitting them where they all have to go, the salvage yards and laying charges often enough to make them very cautious not to accept knowingly stolen material