Confessions of a Dumpster Diver

[Jetster]

What no Zip drive?

 

[Caring1]

Get off your high horse please. Thanks.

No!
My moral standards don't go that low.
While helping one kid down the road may make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I think of the bigger picture and entire families could end up below the poverty line due to unemployment because of inconsiderate people.
Theft is still theft, doesn't matter how you dress it.

 

[Jetster]

Dumpster diving is legal in the United States except where prohibited by local regulation. According to a 1988 Supreme Court Ruling (California vs. Greenwood)

If it can be access by the public and not locked

So taking stuff out of the trash is inconsiderate? That's a stretch

 

[silentbogo]

No!
My moral standards don't go that low.
While helping one kid down the road may make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I think of the bigger picture and entire families could end up below the poverty line due to unemployment because of inconsiderate people.
Theft is still theft, doesn't matter how you dress it.

People work on hourly wages and monthly salaries. Most of "recycling centers" work on government subsidies with long-term plans and contracts, so they won't be out of jobs for a while even if there is not a single piece of electronic junk left to process.

Another horrible thing about "modern" recycling centers, is that they are terribly inefficient. If, for example, a motherboard does not work, it goes straight to precious metal recovery, or final disposal stage. No one cares that it might have a working chipset, perfectly reusable mosfets or super-expensive PMICs, controllers and other ICs... Same thing goes for lots of other things: TVs, cellphones, tablets, household appliances.

Same thing goes for digital storage: almost all corporations/data centers/medium and large private companies choose disposal over recycling (null-formatting it several times costs a lot more than smashing it with a sledgehammer).

I have nothing against recycling centers in general, but at this time they do old and simple Waste Disposal under the name of Recycling, and actually make much less difference than a dozen guys bringing old electronics back to life.

 

[jaggerwild]

I'm here to turn myself in, I'm powerless over hardware I find. And I need help, Oh help me have higher Morals!

@ OP,
Love it man! And it fills your free time....Win Win!

 

[dorsetknob]

His morel standard is screwered
as a result that he does not make these finds
therefore if others do then they are benefiting and so getting things for nothing they must be Stealing
Oh High and Mighty are the morels of @Caring1
I bet if he found $10au bill in the street he would Hand it in to the Police ( pisstaking)
I wonder if he ever breaks any law ( we all do )
His Place in (Airy Fairy land ) must be booked Halo size 50 (for his Big head)

Edit
Canon law says every one MUST Tithe the Church 10% of their earnings almost no one Does

 

[rtwjunkie]

You aren't a relative of junkbear by any chance are you? I could have sworn this was going to be one of his threads.

Or @Mussels! He's forever finding quality used hardware.

 

[Octopuss]

No!
My moral standards don't go that low.
While helping one kid down the road may make him feel all warm and fuzzy inside, I think of the bigger picture and entire families could end up below the poverty line due to unemployment because of inconsiderate people.
Theft is still theft, doesn't matter how you dress it.

Oh look, we have a crusader here, apparently with some sand in his vagina.

 

[Atomic77]

Holy moly if all that stuff in your picture was tossed out at one time I would be ashamed a lot of those components look almost as good as new.

 

[HossHuge]

I was at a staples a few weeks ago checking out there recycle stuff. Too bad they don't let you take it. Lots of it is easily salvageable.

 

[Atomic77]

I don't know about legality of Dumpster Diving But I do know that I see Nicole Curtis use stuff out of a dumpster when she rehabs houses on HGTV'S show called Rehab Addict.

 

[Freezer]

It really isn't illegal, a "business" may claim it to be because you're taking away their income but there is absolutely nothing they can do about it because it's trash and if you have a use for it there is nothing anyone can do (they may try) - at least in the U.S. it's trash, in other countries not sure. However, diving into trash on someones private property (excluding business') or garbage-can on the curb is illegal and theft despite local laws, unless someone mentions the item is free for the taking.

I couldn't find myself doing this, but props to you.

Good stuff, good work, I may give it a try myself too.

Aussies are too 'prudent' and 'lazy' over unnecessary precautions as the population is spoiled with too much care.

Nevermind I thought you were talking about Americans.

 

[PLAfiller]

Get off your high horse please. Thanks.

I don't think it's such a high horse to be fair. I've had this dilemma before. If he's using the hardware for his own or his friend's own needs-> that's alright in my book. But if he decides to sell, that's a different story. I know 20 bucks won't shatter a company, but that's not the point. The line is pretty thin. Someone bought this at the time. Now that company/university or whatever has thrown it onto a special place, and I don't see someone going to ask for permission to resell it for them. So, yeah you start selling...it's pretty much a theft IMO.

Oh look, we have a crusader here, apparently with some sand in his vagina.

Apparently your definition of theft is pretty shallow. Either way, your post is offensive and would thumb down if I could.

 

[micropage7]

you could build a lot of htpcs or basic pc just by looking around

 

[RejZoR]

In my country, it's almost a tradition for companies to sell off their old workstations to employees or 3rd parties for tiny price. It's easy way to dispose of large number of systems, they earn few bucks and employees are happy as well. No need to recycle stuff at all, it gets reused.

 

[micropage7]

In my country, it's almost a tradition for companies to sell off their old workstations to employees or 3rd parties for tiny price. It's easy way to dispose of large number of systems, they earn few bucks and employees are happy as well. No need to recycle stuff at all, it gets reused.

wow nice, in my office you use the pc until its broken so nutting left

 

[Freezer]

I don't think it's such a high horse to be fair. I've had this dilemma before. If he's using the hardware for his own or his friend's own needs-> that's alright in my book. But if he decides to sell, that's a different story. I know 20 bucks won't shatter a company, but that's not the point. The line is pretty thin. Someone bought this at the time. Now that company/university or whatever has thrown it onto a special place, and I don't see someone going to ask for permission to resell it for them. So, yeah you start selling...it's pretty much a theft IMO.



Apparently your definition of theft is pretty shallow. Either way, your post is offensive and would thumb down if I could.

LOL at how you claim this to be immoral. Sorry, but you have a very dilapidated viewpoint, more-so the influences of Corporate bs.

It doesn't matter, a 'business' or a regular consumer threw out the equipment and it's up for grabs by anyone. We're talking electronics intentionally tossed in the dump or recycling center for the purpose to dispose of it environmentally. If someone can use the electronics, good for them, but if they cannot they ought to drop it back off. If access to these places are open and the business does not secure the 'trash' then the items are open to the public, despite it being on a business' private property. Again, this is trash, we're not talking per-say a lumber yard which has materials out in the open - that's definitely theft if someone took that product. It's not 'theft' unless an individual gained entry force-ably, or if the property is not secured after business hours, again talking obvious 'trash,' not a usable commodity. If the business clearly secures the 'trash' in a gated yard or within a warehouse environment and someone took something without permission then I'd agree with your viewpoint. A business can't claim nothing, especially when some centers have drop off locations that are completely in the open after-hours AND for the fact that these centers do not own the equipment. It's a different story if the trash were on residential-homeowners property.

 

[Vayra86]

'Theft' in a thread where unused parts that are no longer part of the real economy and tossed away to be recycled from tax payers' subsidized recycling centers...

Some people have completely lost the plot here. I am ashamed for these fellow human beings, such disregard for what is really important in life and completely indoctrinated by the way companies try to misuse the law and/or discard parts purely from a cost/profit perspective. Go outside for once, taste the real life.

 

[Arjai]

Trash.
Theft.
Residential Trash, no. May contain personal info and deserves to be protected by law.
Business Trash, maybe? Depending on the company and their product, patents, security of secret projects...The Bakery down the street?
Recycle centers/ Trash collectors, why not? If something reaches this point it is off the grid. Unless there is a business recovering things, from the pile, by which they could claim ownership, it is NOT theft.

I know many artists that sell their art, "Found Object" art. So, by the same logic, they are also thieves?

It takes all kinds. I enjoy a meaningful debate but, this one I see going
Godwin's.

So, i shall add my 2cents and enjoy from the bleachers.

 

[64K]

I googled this just out of curiosity (yes I'm bored) and it seemed that half the people on these legal advice sites were saying that going through someone's recycle is illegal and half were saying it's legal. That might be because it's according to the local laws in your area. They may vary.

 

[Ahhzz]

What no Zip drive?

I've got 2 100s, and 2 250s, both internal and external heheh

Ok, along the dumpster diving, I've recovered 2 LCD screens from laptop fiascos in our business, and I've got tentative plans for them. However, I've also got a keyboard from the dell. Anyone had any luck re-purposing those for anything useful?

 

[Sasqui]

Love, love, love this thread. Applause to the OP for being resourceful and re-purposing what would otherwise be toxic waste. Who cares if it's illegal. There's a BIG difference between doing the Right Thing and Doing Things Right!

Cheers!!!

 

[PLAfiller]

LOL at how you claim this to be immoral. Sorry, but you have a very dilapidated viewpoint, more-so the influences of Corporate bs.

It doesn't matter, a 'business' or a regular consumer threw out the equipment and it's up for grabs by anyone. We're talking electronics intentionally tossed in the dump or recycling center for the purpose to dispose of it environmentally. If someone can use the electronics, good for them, but if they cannot they ought to drop it back off. If access to these places are open and the business does not secure the 'trash' then the items are open to the public, despite it being on a business' private property. Again, this is trash, we're not talking per-say a lumber yard which has materials out in the open - that's definitely theft if someone took that product. It's not 'theft' unless an individual gained entry force-ably, or if the property is not secured after business hours, again talking obvious 'trash,' not a usable commodity. If the business clearly secures the 'trash' in a gated yard or within a warehouse environment and someone took something without permission then I'd agree with your viewpoint. A business can't claim nothing, especially when some centers have drop off locations that are completely in the open after-hours AND for the fact that these centers do not own the equipment. It's a different story if the trash were on residential-homeowners property.

After I checked the meaning of "dilapidated" I will give you some background to explain some of the reasoning why I wrote that in my previous post.

I used to live in Denmark for about 3 years, so I know what their recycling systems looks like as @Ebo explained on the previous page in fair details. If I wanted I'd have a FAAAR better dumpster-diving collection than him. People there throw away working utlrabooks with I5's for a cracked screen, you can get on Ebay for a thousand quid or so (some of the stuff I've encountered in my experience). I am not saying this to parade I am a better person than him, no and again no. I simply think I have a good understanding of what it feels like to sacavange the "wasteland" and be a dumbster-diver and accumulate so much working parts. Now that I got that out of the way, let me give you this example. Most containers for electronic stuff in DK (and it looks like in Australia) are on the open: no cameras, weather doing its thing with rain/sun etc. Let's say a university buys 50 PCs. Uses them and in the end throws them out in one of those unwatched dumpsters-> no fences/ open to the public. I don't know if they are obliged by law or not or if they are compensated in some way. Let's say someone stumbles upon this and gets a few of the PC's and then sells them after a few repairs. What do we have here:

A) PC's were bought with tax payers' money back in the day

B) that person did not contact the IT department or in any other way the uni's administration whether he/she can use those objects

C) they are not used for personal need/ friend etc's need. Nor for donors for capacitors for personal projects/ heatsinks/ cables/ practice sleeving PSU's etc etc

D) the person realized a profit (size of the profit is not important, we are talking prinicples here)

You can substitute the uni with a company/ small business and if those 4 conditions are met at the same time, yes I do believe this is a theft ( theft as a deceitful taking of property without permission). That's what I ment.

I am not saying this is the case with OP. And I agree with you in the sense it matters if you know the circumstances around what you take and what are you going to do with it. In my opinion, it's a fine line with dumpster-diving for hardware stuff.

 

[Cvrk]

Do you have a HD 7980 or a GTX 480 that maybe you can send my way ?

I think the thread title is very inspired. Just love it!

 

[Freezer]

After I checked the meaning of "dilapidated" I will give you some background to explain some of the reasoning why I wrote that in my previous post.

I used to live in Denmark for about 3 years, so I know what their recycling systems looks like as @Ebo explained on the previous page in fair details. If I wanted I'd have a FAAAR better dumpster-diving collection than him. People there throw away working utlrabooks with I5's for a cracked screen, you can get on Ebay for a thousand quid or so (some of the stuff I've encountered in my experience). I am not saying this to parade I am a better person than him, no and again no. I simply think I have a good understanding of what it feels like to sacavange the "wasteland" and be a dumbster-diver and accumulate so much working parts. Now that I got that out of the way, let me give you this example. Most containers for electronic stuff in DK (and it looks like in Australia) are on the open: no cameras, weather doing its thing with rain/sun etc. Let's say a university buys 50 PCs. Uses them and in the end throws them out in one of those unwatched dumpsters-> no fences/ open to the public. I don't know if they are obliged by law or not or if they are compensated in some way. Let's say someone stumbles upon this and gets a few of the PC's and then sells them after a few repairs. What do we have here:

A) PC's were bought with tax payers' money back in the day

B) that person did not contact the IT department or in any other way the uni's administration whether he/she can use those objects

C) they are not used for personal need/ friend etc's need. Nor for donors for capacitors for personal projects/ heatsinks/ cables/ practice sleeving PSU's etc etc

D) the person realized a profit (size of the profit is not important, we are talking prinicples here)

You can substitute the uni with a company/ small business and if those 4 conditions are met at the same time, yes I do believe this is a theft ( theft as a deceitful taking of property without permission). That's what I ment.

I am not saying this is the case with OP. And I agree with you in the sense it matters if you know the circumstances around what you take and what are you going to do with it. In my opinion, it's a fine line with dumpster-diving for hardware stuff.

I can certainly understand where you're coming from, but it's really the University/Business fault for not salvaging them properly then. You can't blame a dumpster diver to obtain goods , because A) indigent, B) hobbyist, C) Kid looking to tinker, D) Other; when in fact, as you say, everything is in the open, yet the University/Business don't take the time to dispose of them properly. Thus the blame ought to be placed on the appropriate parties, not the random dumpster diver. The University / Business could even keep them indoors until someone comes to pick them up. In the U.S. Schools, Universities, Government, and Businesses (most businesses) keep everything indoors and secured, until a recycling agent comes along to collect them, sometimes they're delivered to the recycling facility. <I was going to say something here but forgot.>

It's, obviously, going to be different in other countries... but in all technicality 'trash' is trash and if they don't properly care for it someone else may grab it.

Take for instance upper scale restaurants, they may toss totally fine and complete meals in the trash, or even huge events when they have left overs. They just toss the food without giving a second thought to being wasteful, yet there are millions of homeless out there who can't get a decent meal and some of them are lucky to find restaurants that toss food in the trash versus the garbage disposal.