Why scavenging through other people's trash isn't a bad thing

I’ve been a scavenger for a very long time. For many years I lived in a single-family residence on a lot where we just had the usual garbage can. But now I live in a condo. I am constantly pulling “treasures” from the dumpster that find their way into new uses, from discarded pieces of lumber to hinges, door handles, wood trim, lighting and more.

I still remember how much fun it was to go to the local landfill many years ago when it was OK to pick through the stuff tossed there and haul some of it back home.

I built at least two bicycles out of parts I found at what we all called the dump (today I guess it is a “landfill”). There were bike frames, rims, brakes, handlebars, chains, gears, seats and more. It was like being in a candy store for me.

But now I’m a dumpster diver and soon may face a fine from the city of Atascadero if I drag anything back to the safety of my garage.

I love to build scale-model navy vessels, and you would be surprised at how many smaller items taken from the trash can be used in the scratch building of a boat.

Most recently I rescued a remote-controlled airplane from the dumpster. It was of 1950s vintage and painted a bright yellow. The gas engine was still in it. The 6-foot wing had been separated from the body of the aircraft, and there were a number of holes in both the wing and body. But with a little model aircraft fabric and a heat gun to shrink the “skin,” I was able to patch the craft back together. A small can of yellow paint finished off a very large plane that, even though it doesn’t fly, now hangs in my garage as a piece of art.

I’m glad we have people who go through the trash and haul out those items that can be recycled and reused. It reduces what goes to the landfill east of our city. And if it provides a little spending money for the “finder,” then that is just fine with me.

I can understand restricting people from entering your backyard to get to the trash can. But to me, a dumpster, or even a garbage can at the curb, is fair game to those who want to pull out stuff that for them still has some use.

This story was originally published January 5, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Why scavenging through other people's trash isn't a bad thing."