In our town, every trash day people come by on foot pushing a little
cart and dig through our recycling bins. They pull out all the items
that have deposits, as well as glass bottles that can't be returned in
our state. Sometimes, when we've yet to get up and get the trash down
to the curb, they will even be brash enough to go up on to our porch
and pull out our bottles.

My original thought was that these were poor people trying to make a
buck (if this is the case, I'd probably be a sucker and feel sorry
enough to leave them a few $ or something at xmas), but now I'm not so
sure. Seems like too much effort for minimal reward, and also what do
they do with all the glass? Transport it across state lines?

My second wild thought was that they were actually employed by the
town to handle this type of recycling (it seems we have several
different types of trash services for each type of trash), but it just
seems odd that a relatively wealthy town would hire people on foot to
do this sort of thing.

Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

Puzzled,
jen

P.s., I have tried to ask these folks, but none of them speak english.
They seem nice enough and don't act cagey about what they're doing.

"shinypenny" wrote in message
om...
In our town, every trash day people come by on foot pushing a little
cart and dig through our recycling bins. They pull out all the items
that have deposits, as well as glass bottles that can't be returned in
our state. Sometimes, when we've yet to get up and get the trash down
to the curb, they will even be brash enough to go up on to our porch
and pull out our bottles.

My original thought was that these were poor people trying to make a
buck (if this is the case, I'd probably be a sucker and feel sorry
enough to leave them a few $ or something at xmas), but now I'm not so
sure. Seems like too much effort for minimal reward, and also what do
they do with all the glass? Transport it across state lines?

My second wild thought was that they were actually employed by the
town to handle this type of recycling (it seems we have several
different types of trash services for each type of trash), but it just
seems odd that a relatively wealthy town would hire people on foot to
do this sort of thing.

Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

they sell the glass, and make money on it, where I live the big companies
had to put locks on there recycled bins, peeps would come by and take the
cardboard and sell it to the recycler.

theres money in that garbage...

Yes, they are people trying to make a buck. No, they are not employed
by the town. As for "too much effort for minimal reward," it's
difficult for you to make that judgment, considering that (a) you have
no idea how poor they are, (b) you have no idea how much they manage to
make by collecting cans and bottles, and (c) you may not understand
their work ethic, if they are from a foreign country (as you've
indicated) with a culture that is markedly different from ours. Also,
considering that they are probably not employed, then spending time
collecting cans and bottles is more profitable than whatever else they
might be doing, regardless of how much they actually make from it.

As for the glass bottles, they may take them to recycling centers which
pay money for glass, or they may wash them out and use them at home, or
they may wash them out and sell them.

An anecdote to lend some perspective.... I recently heard a guy on NPR
talk about how when he lived in India, his trash was picked through by
multiple people before the collectors ever got to it, such that very
little of what he put out was left for the collectors. He said that
each person to go through the trash was of a lower caste than the prior
person -- there was actually an organized hierarchy of who was allowed
to pick through which trash when.

In article , Punch wrote:

"shinypenny" wrote in message
. com...
In our town, every trash day people come by on foot pushing a little
cart and dig through our recycling bins. They pull out all the items
that have deposits, as well as glass bottles that can't be returned in
our state. Sometimes, when we've yet to get up and get the trash down
to the curb, they will even be brash enough to go up on to our porch
and pull out our bottles.

My original thought was that these were poor people trying to make a
buck (if this is the case, I'd probably be a sucker and feel sorry
enough to leave them a few $ or something at xmas), but now I'm not so
sure. Seems like too much effort for minimal reward, and also what do
they do with all the glass? Transport it across state lines?

My second wild thought was that they were actually employed by the
town to handle this type of recycling (it seems we have several
different types of trash services for each type of trash), but it just
seems odd that a relatively wealthy town would hire people on foot to
do this sort of thing.

Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

they sell the glass, and make money on it, where I live the big companies
had to put locks on there recycled bins, peeps would come by and take the
cardboard and sell it to the recycler.

theres money in that garbage...

Glass has scrap value of only a cent or two per pound. Aluminum
beverage cans get a lot more - I have cashed in such trash before at
around 40 cents per pound. Note - it takes about 20, maybe 24 beer cans
to get a pound of aluminum! Glass bottles with deposits get a nickel or a
dime each.

- Don Klipstein )

On 2 Dec 2003 18:05:20 -0800, someone wrote:


Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

Puzzled,
jen


You have GOT to be pretty naive to be surprised by this. And if its
not worth it in your view for a private individual to do this, why
would you think it be worth it for your 'wealthy' town to do it
either?

As to your comments about how the money they got for it would not be
worth the effort, maybe not to you, but that just shows the example of
how immigrants come in to take the jobs Americans don't want. Perhaps
you would rather go on 'welfare' before you would work so hard for so
little. Just an example of "what's wrong with America today".

-v.

(Don Klipstein) wrote in message ...

Glass has scrap value of only a cent or two per pound. Aluminum
beverage cans get a lot more - I have cashed in such trash before at
around 40 cents per pound. Note - it takes about 20, maybe 24 beer cans
to get a pound of aluminum! Glass bottles with deposits get a nickel or a
dime each.

Hmmm... I would imagine their effort might make a few bucks per day.
There's only so much they can glean between the hours people put out
their trash and when the truck comes, and since they're on foot and
using a cart (not very big, I might add), it seems there's only so
much per individual that they can take each day.

I was thinking that if they had to transport the glass over state
lines to get the deposit refunded, that would completely eat any
profit. If this is their only job and not supplemental income, then I
imagine they must live hours away, since affordable housing is
nonexistant. So add into that the cost to travel into the area each
morning.

jen

(Jonathan Kamens) wrote in message ...
Yes, they are people trying to make a buck. No, they are not employed
by the town.

My question is, why not? The town keeps bitchin' that they can't
afford to recycle and want to drop the program. Why don't they
contract with these people directly?

As for "too much effort for minimal reward," it's
difficult for you to make that judgment, considering that (a) you have
no idea how poor they are,

Of course.

(b) you have no idea how much they manage to
make by collecting cans and bottles,

That's why I'm curious. Seems to me they can't be collecting all that
much. Their carts are pretty small, and there's only so much time
between when people leave out their trash, and when the truck comes.

and (c) you may not understand
their work ethic, if they are from a foreign country (as you've
indicated) with a culture that is markedly different from ours.

Well, being US born, I'll probably never understand it fully, even if
I moved to a foreign country someday. But I can admire it and wonder
about it, and want to learn more.

Also,
considering that they are probably not employed, then spending time
collecting cans and bottles is more profitable than whatever else they
might be doing, regardless of how much they actually make from it.

Actually I was wondering if this might not just be a supplemental
activity. The early a.m. hours would make a day or night shift
workable.

As for the glass bottles, they may take them to recycling centers which
pay money for glass, or they may wash them out and use them at home, or
they may wash them out and sell them.

An anecdote to lend some perspective.... I recently heard a guy on NPR
talk about how when he lived in India, his trash was picked through by
multiple people before the collectors ever got to it, such that very
little of what he put out was left for the collectors. He said that
each person to go through the trash was of a lower caste than the prior
person -- there was actually an organized hierarchy of who was allowed
to pick through which trash when.

Yeah, but there are significant drawbacks to a caste system.

jen

(v) wrote in message ...
On 2 Dec 2003 18:05:20 -0800, someone wrote:


Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

Puzzled,
jen


You have GOT to be pretty naive to be surprised by this. And if its
not worth it in your view for a private individual to do this, why
would you think it be worth it for your 'wealthy' town to do it
either?

As to your comments about how the money they got for it would not be
worth the effort, maybe not to you, but that just shows the example of
how immigrants come in to take the jobs Americans don't want. Perhaps
you would rather go on 'welfare' before you would work so hard for so
little. Just an example of "what's wrong with America today".

-v.

In my town there's a guy that got so good at recycling that he bought
a used moving truck to carry it all. He's out every morning after his
night shift job. He makes a ton of extra money and provides a good
life for his kids that he could not with his security job at the
hospital. This man can spot magnesium a mile away. He's always trying
to organize the other junkeers to specialiaze and develop secondary
markets for things. It's amazing what goes on out there.
PS. You can buy a license for $10 and you are OK to go through the
trash even if the FORMER owner is standing right there. At that point
it's yours, no longer his.

I don't understand. If the people who do the recycling where
you are were paying *you* for the right to pick up and
recycle, then perhaps they'd be entitled not to have people
picking through stuff at the curb, but how can they be
entitled to anything if you're paying them?

(shinypenny) writes:
Hmmm... I would imagine their effort might make a few bucks per day.
There's only so much they can glean between the hours people put out
their trash and when the truck comes,

Where I am, people put their recycling out the night before,
so there are quite a few hours during which it can be
gleaned. Even when they put it out the morning of, in many
areas the trucks don't come until the afternoon.

and since they're on foot and
using a cart (not very big, I might add), it seems there's only so
much per individual that they can take each day.

I was thinking that if they had to transport the glass over state
lines to get the deposit refunded, that would completely eat any
profit. If this is their only job and not supplemental income, then I
imagine they must live hours away, since affordable housing is
nonexistant. So add into that the cost to travel into the area each
morning.

Many of these people work on teams which are transported into
the area in vans, fan out to collect on various streets, then
go back to the van to deposit their taking and get driven to
the next area for picking. This seems to answer all of the
issues you raised above.

(shinypenny) writes:
(Jonathan Kamens) wrote in message ...
Yes, they are people trying to make a buck. No, they are not employed
by the town.
My question is, why not? The town keeps bitchin' that they can't
afford to recycle and want to drop the program. Why don't they
contract with these people directly?

Because the town recycles a lot more than what the gleaners
can make use of.

The companies that contract to do your town's recycling
assume that by the time the stuff gets to them, all the
really profitable stuff (i.e., the deposit cans and bottles)
have been gleaned. The price of the contract takes that into
account.

"shinypenny" wrote in message
om...
(Don Klipstein) wrote in message
...

Glass has scrap value of only a cent or two per pound. Aluminum
beverage cans get a lot more - I have cashed in such trash before at
around 40 cents per pound. Note - it takes about 20, maybe 24 beer cans
to get a pound of aluminum! Glass bottles with deposits get a nickel or
a
dime each.

Hmmm... I would imagine their effort might make a few bucks per day.
There's only so much they can glean between the hours people put out
their trash and when the truck comes, and since they're on foot and
using a cart (not very big, I might add), it seems there's only so
much per individual that they can take each day.

I was thinking that if they had to transport the glass over state
lines to get the deposit refunded, that would completely eat any
profit. If this is their only job and not supplemental income, then I
imagine they must live hours away, since affordable housing is
nonexistant. So add into that the cost to travel into the area each
morning.

jen

they need to use newman's mail truck like kramer.

What happens if they cut themselves while digging though your trash?

This may be a liability issue you should consider

(shinypenny) wrote in message . com...
In our town, every trash day people come by on foot pushing a little
cart and dig through our recycling bins. They pull out all the items
that have deposits, as well as glass bottles that can't be returned in
our state. Sometimes, when we've yet to get up and get the trash down
to the curb, they will even be brash enough to go up on to our porch
and pull out our bottles.

My original thought was that these were poor people trying to make a
buck (if this is the case, I'd probably be a sucker and feel sorry
enough to leave them a few $ or something at xmas), but now I'm not so
sure. Seems like too much effort for minimal reward, and also what do
they do with all the glass? Transport it across state lines?

My second wild thought was that they were actually employed by the
town to handle this type of recycling (it seems we have several
different types of trash services for each type of trash), but it just
seems odd that a relatively wealthy town would hire people on foot to
do this sort of thing.

Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

Puzzled,
jen

P.s., I have tried to ask these folks, but none of them speak english.
They seem nice enough and don't act cagey about what they're doing.

shinypenny wrote:

I was thinking that if they had to transport the glass over state
lines to get the deposit refunded, that would completely eat any
profit. If this is their only job and not supplemental income, then I
imagine they must live hours away, since affordable housing is
nonexistant. So add into that the cost to travel into the area each
morning.

This is so sad it is almost funny. You are so insulated you have NO
idea what's going on in the world. Try reading up on "homeless people"
and then get back to us.

Okay, I know I shouldn't, but...

All I'm saying is we are mandated to pay for recycling here

In other words, you have to pay for it whether you use it or not. Okay.
With you so far.

so I think the collector is entitled to it since in essence, I paid for the service.

Y'know, this sentence might make some small amount of sense if it said, for
instance, "so I think the collector is OBLIGATED to haul it away, since in
essence, I paid for the service."

Normally, people use the word "entitled" in reference to things that they
want (and which they fear may be withheld from them). On the other hand,
they use the words "obligated to" or "have to" when they're talking about
doing a job they've collected money for.

If someone offered to pay you for a job, but you only had to do half the
work you were getting paid for -- and no one was criticizing you for the
fact that someone else was doing the OTHER half for you without asking you
to share your pay -- would you complain and say that you felt "entitled" to
do the whole job? (Call me lazy, but *I* wouldn't! At least not unless
that part of the job was FUN... and I really don't believe emptying a 20-lb
recycling bin is any more FUN than emptying a 15-lb bin.)

Therefore the person that I paid should get the 'goods'

You're paying for someone to take away the "goods." Why on earth would you
care WHO takes them away, so long as they're all gone by the time they're
supposed to be gone?

If you want something to be annoyed about, try this one on for size: where
I live, we're also "mandated to pay for recycling collection." However,
because the area is too rural for them to bother sending a recycling truck,
there IS no collection here. So, yep, I pay for curbside recycling
collection, but there's none available to me; every couple of weeks I load
up the recycling in the back of my truck and drive it to the recycling
center.

Lemme tell you, if someone wanted to pick up my recycling at curbside on a
regular schedule and save me an errand, I sure wouldn't care WHO it was or
how "strange" they were, so long as it got done.

-- Michelle

Please, Don't Breed or Buy While Shelter Pets Die.

(Todd Von Behren) wrote in message . com...
What happens if they cut themselves while digging though your trash?

This may be a liability issue you should consider

(shinypenny) wrote in message . com...
In our town, every trash day people come by on foot pushing a little
cart and dig through our recycling bins. They pull out all the items
that have deposits, as well as glass bottles that can't be returned in
our state. Sometimes, when we've yet to get up and get the trash down
to the curb, they will even be brash enough to go up on to our porch
and pull out our bottles.

My original thought was that these were poor people trying to make a
buck (if this is the case, I'd probably be a sucker and feel sorry
enough to leave them a few $ or something at xmas), but now I'm not so
sure. Seems like too much effort for minimal reward, and also what do
they do with all the glass? Transport it across state lines?


What happens if they have a heart attach laughing over all your empty
Viagra bottles?
My second wild thought was that they were actually employed by the
town to handle this type of recycling (it seems we have several
different types of trash services for each type of trash), but it just
seems odd that a relatively wealthy town would hire people on foot to
do this sort of thing.

Just curious if this is a common occurence anywhere else, and if
anyone can shed any light on this practice.

Puzzled,
jen

P.s., I have tried to ask these folks, but none of them speak english.
They seem nice enough and don't act cagey about what they're doing.