Somebody Took My Garbage
 

My wife and I spent several hours cleaning out the basement today. We generated 10-12 large bags of trash, which I deposited on the curb about three hours ago. Most of it was old clothes that had sat down there for years, empty boxes, old junk, etc. Trash day is Tuesday, but all the bags were sealed and none contained food items, so I wasn't really concerned about them sitting out there for a couple of days.

I just looked out the window a couple of minutes ago, and every single bag is gone. Taken on a Saturday night in freezing rain.

Must be some highly motivated junk vendors, identity thieves, or whoever the hell they are. If they're identity thieves, they're in for a disappointment, since there is no personal information on anything.

People are really, really strange.

Kind of like having a garage sale that starts at 7 am....

People knocking on the doors of your house at 6 am wanting to know if they can look at your stuff first...

People are ****ing nuts!

That worked out well. Maybe they'll use the old clothes.

The funny thing is, we set the potential garage sale stuff off to the side - the shit in the bags was the stuff I wouldn't even consider trying to sell.

Oh well - we have more stuff to throw out (haven't cleaned the basement out good in years) and really didn't want to stack any more trash on the curb. Now it's not an issue.

Here in Alva, Ok if your trash bags are gone before trash day there's a good chance it was the cops who took it.

They probably took it, donated it and will take thousands off of their upcoming tax return.

I guess. We kept some stuff to give to Goodwill. This was stuff not worth giving to charity.

Everything's worth giving to charity, whether you think so or not. Seriously.

Plus, you can write it off. :)

More power to 'em. I've seen the trash raiders in action before, but generally they grab identifiable items, not sealed bags.

I've set things in front of my house only to find them gone 10 minutes later, without anyone even asking questions. Clothes, office chairs, desks, etc. It's pissed me off because I had planned to donate them but at the same time, it saved me a trip.

:D

Bottom line: People are ****ing weird.

Amen to that.

I got some shit I want to get rid of. Mind if I bring it over? I take all my garbage to the dump myself, so it'll save me some money.

I don't think the gas you'd go through would make it a very economical exchange. :D

Bubby Bristers sister once knocked on my door wanting to know if she could have the old couch and chair that I had in the back of my pick-up for 2 weeks. Turns out, it was for some Asian immigrants that just moved to the neighborhood. I ended up giving her a bunch more crap I didn't want. They thought they'd hit the lottery and always waved to me.

It's funny, I've never had that happen to me, but I have set stuff by the road with a free sign on it so I didn't have to run it to the dump, and it sits there for days until I finally give up and take it to the dump.

Yeah, those bags i stole were all worthless.

Sorry, i didn't know it was you Fraz....:D

Heh. That's ****ed up. No harm done, I suppose.

You said you have more cleaning to do, do it, but when you do, throw a dead skunk in one of the bags. That should teach them to stay the **** away from your shit.

:spock:

Getting a dead skunk would bring on more trouble than what its worth.

If you are throwing it out and someone takes it, well, then you got rid of the stuff anyways.

:spock:.........? and WTF

Maybe it was some weirdos who wanted to smell your tightie whities.

As long there's no personal info in the trash, I really don't care. I just think it's kind of scummy.

Having a paper shredder is well worth the money. Anything with your name and number or address that you are throwing away is all torn up.

In this day and age it is a must have i think.

That just reminded me...

Anyone remember the big ice storm in KC back around 2003 or so? I had 4 Oak trees over 50' tall that dropped a shitload of timber. Some of the limbs that came down were at least a 16" in diameter. I was wrapping up 4 days of getting it all cut and set out on the easement for the city to pick up and when a couple pulls up and asks if they can have it for firewood. I said sure. Then they asked me to start cutting it into smaller pieces and bundling it for them. Then drove off in a huff when I said no. WTF?!

.

That's funny.

I took a couple of pick up loads to good will a year ago, space about 3 weeks apart. The first load they had me put into this back room, maybe 10 ft wide and 20 feet deep. It was a little concerning since the total volume of the room (floor to ceiling) was maybe 20% full. I figured they were a little behind in getting it organized and out into the "retail" area. When I came back 3 weeks later, the room was packed. I concluded 2 things: 1) Goodwill is was in failure mode and completely ineffective in their core mission and 2) America has way too much crap they don't want and don't need and no good way to get rid of it.

I could still throw out 40% of the items in our home (by mass). We'd be much better off and would not miss any of it.

Sorry, I was lookin for some old rags to clean Rain Man's bike with. I'll bring it all back if you want me too.

I'd give my crap away if I thought someone would use it. I just can't bring myself to throw it in the trash, or to give it to someone like Good Will that is incapable of handling it.

Post it in the free section of Craigslist, someone will come get it.

The first duplex I bought years ago I had something like this happen. The "mixologist" that lived there trashed the joint before she moved out. She left a mattress that looked like someone had pissed the Olympic Rings on it, a crockpot full of rotten cabbage, and in the basement there were waste deep piles of wet clothes.

We put that crap outside, including the golden painted mattress and someone came and took all of it. I feel bad today, but we laughed at the guy that took all the wet clothes. He told us he takes it and sells it and makes $150,000 a year--and we laughed in his face. LMAO

That was a strange night.

:eek:

You should have edited the part about the olympic rings of piss.

I used to live in SF and had a problem with trash divers.

When commodities were priced high last year we would have at least 5 groups a day come through on trash day.

It would start at 5 PM when an old Chinese lady with a rolling cart would come through and dig through every blue can out. That would be followed by a few South of the Border neighbors. Some had pick up trucks outfitted with plywood extenders on the bed.

They would leave a mess of what was not valuable. Make a bunch of noise. Cause ID theft concerns and drive up the cost of my trash service.

I would have to go out and yell at them to get out of my trash at least twice a month.

The funny thing is that the people walking down the street looked at me as the bad guy in this.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&sn=002&sc=418


A San Francisco judge has ordered a dozen of the city's most prolific recycling scavengers to stop looting bottles, cans and cardboard from curbside bins.


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The court's order, which came at the request of the city's garbage company, aims to crack down on a problem that residents say creates litter and noise and Sunset Scavenger says costs it millions of dollars a year.

The preliminary injunction is the latest effort to stop a wave of recycling theft sweeping California amid rising metal prices and falling employment. Violators would face maximum fines of $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail for each violation.

Sunset Scavenger, San Francisco's official waste hauler, went to court after receiving thousands of complaints from consumers who said organized crews of recycling "poachers" were becoming hostile and dangerous.

The company, a division of giant Norcal Waste Systems Inc., investigated the crews and handed over the details to the San Francisco Police Department - paying overtime for the agency to conduct its own investigation.

"It's an affront to the community. I've seen stacks of complaints by residents whose neighborhoods are ravaged by these guys coming through," said Russ Giuntini, chief assistant district attorney for San Francisco.

Typically, organized recycling theft works like this:

Small groups converge on a neighborhood on the night before regular weekly trash and recycling pickups. Runners go from bin to bin, gathering glass bottles, plastic and aluminum, which are thrown into a pickup truck - often rickety and modified with tall, wooden boards to carry bigger loads.

When the truck is filled, the drivers take the cargo to a recycling center or scrap yard.

Depending on the prices offered for the material, the crews can net hundreds to thousands of dollars on each load.

The garbage company says those figures add up quickly - totaling $2 million to $5 million a year. Ratepayers ultimately pick up the tab through higher trash bills, said Robert Reed, spokesman for Sunset Scavenger.

"When poachers steal these materials, they're reaching into the wallets of our customers," Reed said.

Although the recycled goods can bring in needed cash amid a faltering economy, a shortage of jobs and the soaring costs of food, gas and rent, recycling theft is illegal under state law and San Francisco health codes.

As soon as customers put their beer bottles and soda cans in the recycling bin of the city-authorized firm and take it to the curb, the recyclables become the waste company's property.

The injunction, handed down last week by Superior Court Judge Charlotte Walter Woolard, adds another enforcement tool to the mix, prosecutors say.

"It has a great deterrent effect and should make (recycling theft) much easier to prosecute," Giuntini said.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill sponsored by San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma aimed at curbing recycling theft. The measure requires scrap dealers and recycling centers to ask for identification, such as a driver's license, from anyone who brings in more than $50 worth of newspapers or $100 worth of bottles and cans.

Sacramento and New York City recently passed similar measures designed to thwart recycling raiders.

Unfortunately, this is true.

I have people rummage through my trash every week. In Los Angeles, we have three trash containers where I live: One for "trash", one for recyclables and one for lawn and forestry.

Before trash day each week, my "trash" bags have been displaced and completely rummaged and my recyclables are gone.

It makes me far more sad than angry, but I always shred anything that could possibly contain personal info (bank and credit card invites, etc.).

I have a shredder, too, but I just don't trust people not to tape stuff back together.

I've put a basketball hoop out front and no one ever took it. Go figure.

You need an atomizer. :D

I've actually burned some stuff on my barbe.

Hmmm.

That's a LOT of work. As long as you check your balances monthly for any unwanted charges, you should be fine.

90 days is the limit on schnitzengruben.

I have bank statements and pay stubs going back for years. I just keep the shit in boxes in the basement.

Why do they have to put SSNs on pay stubs? No wonder identity theft is so rampant.

No shit.

Not to be "Dad" or anything, but I'd highly suggest a fire-proof safe with a combination like those sold at Costco. I think it cost like $400 and has insurance but it could save your ass someday. It's a worthwhile investment.

I'd rather just get rid of the shit at a secure facility of some kind.

Not at all relevant, but this reminded me of an episode of Trailer Park Boys (only the greatest TV show ever):

Tax deduxtions don't help the poor. I found that out this year. Since the divorce I don't make enough and I don't own anymore. So my personal deduction is more than anything I can deduct.
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Shred documents along with old newspaper, divide into 3-4 bags, and deliver to the dump yourself.

Also, I believe, they make double shredders.

I've never had anyone steal trash, but we have a heavy item pickup once a year. It's a hooptie wagon holiday, or more like a giant citywide free garage sale of junk. Stuff rarely lasts more than a couple of hours when put out to the curb. I guess it's good that someone thinks they can use it, but I imagine alot of it ends up in the dump anyway. Well, the stuff I put out there. If I think it's salvageable I wouldn't put it out there in the first place.

I have a cross-cut shredder and when it's full I'll empty it into my kitchen garbage. It then gets covered in old kitchen waste and slime. It turns it into shredder goo.

When I owned three car washes I bought a little clam shell machine to clean out the mud pits. It worked great except when you dumped the tilt trailer the mud would stick to the floor and had to be shoveled out. Not fun. Then I discovered if I put a sack of leaves in before loading all the mud just slid right out when I dumped it. So I would stop and "steal" bags of leaves from peoples curbs whenever I saw some. I'm sure people thought I was crazy.

I think it was Skip. He wanted to see if you were tossing out any old Mizzou gear, since he's a closet Tiger fan...

Same here, except I burn it in my woodstove.

My absolute best trash theft story happened some years back. Cleaning out my inherited garage junk. Filled to the brim full 'o junk. Found an old Beta VCR and tossed it on top of the heap. Went back to the garage, came back to the curb with the next load in about 5 minutes, Beta VCR was gone. I said to myself, that guy is an assclown.
2 hours later, the VCR was returned. I kid you not.
I've never heard of someone returning trash. WTF?

Years ago my washing machine broke down, I hung on to it thinking I would take it to the dump when I had a full load. Quite some time passed and my brother and I were teaming up to clean up branches and other stuff for a dump run. By the time the truck and trailer was loaded there was not enough room for the damn washer so I left it sitting on my back driveway near the alley.

We took off for the dump and I was pissed I would have to make another trip and drop another 20 bucks to be rid of the damn thing. I told my brother noway that damn thing goes back in my garage and said maybe I will get lucky and someone will steal it. Sure enough we returned to find it missing.

This is where human nature takes over, I had gotten my wish and saved the effort and money. However was still pissed some worthless dump had robbed me! My brother looks at me like I was crazy when I said we should drive around the area and see if we could spot it. He asks WHY? and I tell him I would like to kick the shit out of the thief. He laughed and said **** that lets go pop a few cold ones instead......we did :)

I used to get a bag of clothes light it on fire with gas and drop it into roads. Good times

Those bastards took mine too..they drove away in this


:cuss:

that looks like a dump truck

I had a rental house that had a sewer backup. There was 3 feet of shitty water in the finished basement. I stripped out all of the framing and set it out by the curb with a sign that said "Contaminated - Do not touch". The next day it was gone.

Haha. We call that Hutterite Holiday in my town.

thats a weird lookin dump truck

Those must be your golf shorts on the mayor's lawn

I bet it was him.

Lovely little update to this story.....
 

Turns out my trash wasn't stolen after all. Instead, some lowlife asshole neighbor of mine, who was apparently offended that I put my trash out a couple of days early (even though people do it all the time), threw all the bags up against my garage door. I assume it was the condo board prick that lives at the end of my building, since he's always been a little crybaby douche. Of course, whoever did this didn't bother to ring my doorbell, and since I don't have any windows on the ground floor in the front of my unit, I couldn't see the bags against the garage door. We stayed in yesterday, so I never went outside. So of course, I noticed the bags when I ran over them while backing out of my garage this morning.

:cuss:

Looks like I'm going to war with somebody.

I want video of everything. This will be great entertainment.

this story took an interesting twist.
sec

Find some poison ivy/oak, mortar it up and rub it on the top of one garbage bag. Smear feces on the handle area of the second bag. Put the bags out a day early. If they aren't moved by the condo guy double bag them before the sanitation service arrives. He'll use the poison ivy oiled up hand to open all doors and handles to his home on the way to wash his other hand from the stench of the burrito and corn frazod waste.

here comes an old testament beat down

Oh, I've already come up with lots of things I could do, a few of which are even better that this. Which I'll keep to myself so as not to record them publicly in any way, shape or form.

Mainly, I'd just like to find who did it and point out what a ****ing dumbass they are. I doubt if they seriously thought through what they did. Backing out of the garage, first thing in the morning, almost nobody would notice a bunch of trash bags directly behind a car. The idiot in question had no way of knowing what was in those bags - it could have been glass and flattened my tires; it could have been something that would ooze all over the driveway when ruptured; it could have been something hazardous. I mean, it wasn't, but that's not the point. That was just incredibly ****ing stupid.

If it was the prick on the board, he'll probably admit to it, being the smug little douche that he is. If so, I will definitely make trouble for him with the property manager. I might even call the police.

Or, I might wait a month or two and handle it in a complete different way. But I damn sure won't forget about it.

Kinda reminds me of the ol story of someone putting this old couch out in their driveway for a garage sale. They were gonna sell it for like $50 or something like that. It was out there for about 4 days, no one took it. They left it out one night and it got stolen that very night.

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