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I do that all the time. A thing is a thing, and it can be your thing now. I only try to ask myself two things:
Sidenote: I live in Denmark, where people overconsume, and then get rid of stuff which is still in good condition.
I recently moved to Denmark. A lot of my stuff is from the trash, including a huge old school full wood dinner table, TV, and my stereo system (works as a charm, sounds amazing). I also picked up an amazing old cast iron frying pan.
I make sure to check the big thrash (storeskrald) regularly. Things pop up there that I would never have afforded myself if I had to pay for it.
I think Denmark/Copenhagen is a bit crazy in this regard though.
I think that it is weird that you ask us and not your neighbour
If a neighbor asked me I would be happy it's not going into a landfill and offer to help carry it. Or I would tell you about the ancient curse it holds, and why no mortal should possess it.
This is what the internet has done to people.
If I put something by the road, instead of in the bin, it is because I want someone to take it. Yes take it. If you are unsure, go up and let them know you want it,I can say with absolute confidence, they will say to take it.
I put out one of those big plastic storage units with like 30 little drawers recently, figuring although 2 were missing, someone could still use it. I stood it next to the dustbin, on trash day where it would be optimally visible for anyone who wanted to scrounge it.
The bloody HOA took a picture and sent a nastygram.
I have no HOA, I need no HOA,and want no HOA. I do not care if my neighbor puts his car on blocks. City code enforcement will eventually move on any outrageous lack of upkeep.
Brb, dropping the kids off
Once I was moving house and we set an old couch out on the sidewalk. It was very large and heavy so we were concerned that no one would take it. But we lived in a poorer area where most everything got taken, and sure enough it did disappear.
A few more days went by and we continued packing to move. The big day finally arrived and I went out that morning to greet the mover truck and found that whoever took the couch had come back and returned it during the night! I was like “you can’t do that!” LOL
This is totally kosher where I am and I've done it before, but if I think I'll be observed I'll ask my neighbor. They've always responded with some variation of "oh of course, I consider it trash" and sometimes explain reasons they're getting rid of it that dissuaded me from taking it that weren't immediately obvious.
And if you don't know who owns it, leaving a note to ask is simple.
I've been the one to leave stuff out that I didn't have space for anymore, with a note on that it's free to take
One man's garbage is another man person's good un-garbage.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure" exists exactly for this, I think.
Except in Germany. Anything put outside for refuse collection is considered property of the town or city.
Taking something from the pile is punished as theft, and if caught, you will be fined.
I was thinking that I could as well live in Germany, until this moment. Seriously.
When I lived in a college town, the last week of May was the best time to get used furniture.
College kids everywhere abandoning all kinds of shit on the greenbelt that they had no way of bringing home.
I'm sure there is furniture in my current home that came from some stranger college kid.
The town I grew up in had a college and a university! I don’t think my parents bought us kids any new furniture until my dad built his own woodworking shop. I was a teenager by then!
We always got new mattresses, because NO FUCKING WAY was mom letting us sleep on a used, adult’s, student mattress. (I never knew you could stain them, that way, in those amounts…)
My sister still has a beautiful solid oak desk…
Yeah mattresses, gross. Even a couch.
But coffee tables, TV stands, bed side tables... Bed frames computer desks... So much good shit.
this is quite literally how I get all of my furniture, extending the lifespan of consumer goods is a good thing.
now you know for next time!
As a kid in the 80s I lived in a burb where once or twice in the summer they had a day where they could put out big clunky stuff for trash pickup that normally wasn't allowed. So stuff like furniture, mattresses, old tires, etc. You'd routinely see cars driving past to see if there was anything they wanted to take. Our church friends, a family with 6 kids, would have a few ride off on their bikes and scout for useful stuff and call dibs. Then one brother went back home to get someone to bring the station wagon around while the others kept guard over the claim.
It was a good system for giving a second life to stuff that was still good (or fixable) but that you didn't want or weren't able to lug to the flea market or something.
We have this still where I live. Was just this weekend gone in my neighbourhood.
Last week it was the rich neighbourhood and the council was there stopping people from taking anything saying that it all belongs to the council.
Dann rich fuckers get extra protection for their rubbish mean while our houses get broken into and cars stolen constantly
its very normal to to do this in southeast asia
There's a well established tradition of hand-me-down furniture being put out in alleys in East Vancouver. When you move and have no furniture, you can just tour the alleys and come away with a coffee table and a sofa or a couple of chairs. Did it a few times. You gotta know how to check for bed bugs though.
If you're sure they don't want it, take it.
If you aren't sure, ask, if if they are there, and if they aren't there, take it and ask later if they wanted it (return it if they did).
There's no shame in re-using good or even repairable stuff: indeed, be proud.
It's only weird if the person who threw it away makes it weird by getting upset and calling the cops, which is their legal right for some damn reason.
I don't mind people picking through my trash; just as long as they don't make a mess throwing garbage out of the can and leaving it all over the place.
It wouldn't be weird, but talk to your neighbour first.
The free pile is always available.
In my neighborhood taking stuff left at the curb is the norm. Sometimes we‘ll leave a sign to clarify something is free. There have been times when I’ve taken something, used it for a while, then put it back out in the curb for someone else to enjoy.
I’ve put at least 10 pieces of furniture out on the curb in the last 4 months and they’ve all been taken. It makes me glad that someone can use it.
It may or.may not be weird depending on the situstion, your neighbor's personality, your relationship with your neighbor, etc.
But weird != wrong.
Just go and ask
Lmao, not at all. Check it for bugs, but trash is fair game. I live in a college town and there is good furniture out every semester if you like the look of it.
It's technically illegal, but if cops aren't pursuing stolen cars, they damn sure won't care about trash bring stolen.
And, based on your edit, I'm not the only person who agrees.
My neighborhood has bulk trash pickup monthly. Most of the bulk trash gets put out the week prior to pickup day. The majority of this trash doesn’t make it to the dump! People with trailers come by and pick up anything remotely usable. I like to think they are reusing/upcycling this stuff but I really don’t know. I see this as a huge win because it keeps stuff out of the dump but it does feel very dystopian to see a junk economy like something from Fallout.
I’m in the USA btw. Others have pointed out that some countries have different laws regarding ownership of trash. Don’t get in trouble with law enforcement, get to know your neighbors better! It’s not trash if they give it to you.
Why is that weird? I put things out hoping someone will grab it, so i don’t have to risk the city not taking it.
People around me put things out early with the expectation and hope someone will come and take it.
If I have a bulky item to discard, I call 311 or use the My311 app to arrange city pickup, and put it by the curb the day before. It's my hope that none will still be there by the time the truck arrives. Because that means it's being used by someone, which is better for everyone. If it's a neighbor, that's cool too.
I got a decent table saw this way. I don't mind picking up something that someone else doesn't want and I might one day use.
Where I live, there are people who make a decent amount of cash by grabbing whatever metal they can find out of the trash and taking it to scrapyards. There are a couple of trucks that swing past my house a few times the night before and the day of trash pickup. And myself, I grabbed two bikes by just knocking on the door and asking.
You already know the saying about one man's trash. Just use that if they ask about it.
I actually love it when people take things I put by the curb. I would much rather someone get use out of it than have it end up in a landfill.
I did it this morning
We have a big trash day once a month in my town and I always keep an eye out for something good. Recently I picked up a nice, sturdy, homemade cart with big casters in good condition.
Why don't you just go ask them?
That's how I got my dining table in my old apartment.