cmbezln

How exactly are you doing this? Do you look up landfills in your area and then just go there and start looking around? I can't even begin to think where one is near me. Any tips?

4Rings6Stars

I think it's primarily a small town thing. In my home town, we don't have trash pick up. Instead, we have a transfer station (town dump) where residents bring their trash, recycling, scrap metal and garage queen Colnagos...

My dad is friendly with the guys that work there and they set anything with two wheels aside for him. If it's Walmart junk (99% of the time it is) it gets tossed into the scrap metal pile. If its a mint 60's Raleigh Sports, it comes home and is given to me :-)

Savagewolf

At the dump in Salem, there isn't much room to salvage bikes that I know of. When it's open there are workers who enforce the no-scavenging rule, as well as a St. Vincents donation truck. All the bikes seem to go straight to the thrift store donation truck, and the guy that I've talked to there isn't interested in giving up or selling any of the bikes he takes in.

ozneddy

we have men who scavenge our dumps for anything salvagable,(they bought the rights) and they have a "Tip shop" where they sell anything and everything to the public !

ftwelder

I used to browse the scrap metal bins but most of my bikes come from conversations and barn/yard/church sales. Our local transfer station has recently made a "deal with the devil". and no longer allows scavenging.

randyjawa 

This one is impossible to answer, since the laws and rules of implementation are so different.

In my case, I did it for many years, before the format at the landfill site changed, making it easy for management and attendants to enforce the "no scavenging rules/laws. However...

I did what I did in an effort to help Bicycles for Humanity. My charitable work was recognized by landfill site management and workers, alike. At first, I was unofficially allowed, in fact encouraged, to collect bike stuff. Today, I am a welcomed at the landfill site, coming and going as I please, provided that I do what I said I would do.

So, why not do what I do - start helping to clean up the planet, while helping people in great need at the same time - start a Bicycles for Humanity chapter in your area. It is easy to do if you are sincere in doing it.

Find a church, or something like that, who sees the value in such an operation. Get them interested in making up a shipment of bicycles for Africa. Present the interest/intent to the landfill site management and see what happens. You might get a flat no, or you might find that you will have to jump through a few hoops to make it happen.

At the moment, in my area, at least half a dozen landfill sites turn a blind eye to the salvaging/scavenging efforts of Bicycles for Humanity volunteers. One smaller town has even approached their city council seeking official and legal opportunity to salvage bicycle stuff.

Is it a lot of work - you bet! Is it rewarding - you bet, and on several levels!

Google Bicycles for Humanity and see what you get. You will be amazed at how small groups of people can make such a big difference in the lives of others, while cleaning up our collective nest.

ozneddy

Can anyone explain to me why local athoroties in their infinite wisdom wont let anybody scavenge in the dumps? , what harm would it do ? why do they have to be " the Man" all the time,would,nt it save landfill space or is it just a "we dont care about you "attitude ?

Michael Angelo 

Scrap Metal has become big business. Some local scrap yards see anthing made of metal a potential source of profit. Be it stoves, old steel work benches or rusty bikes. They all work into the proftit margin. I know of one guy that pays local dump guys to keep bikes aside so he can pick from. He does this every week, and he gets any bike that can be saved and sold.

randyjawa 

The money thing, in scrap metal, is one of the biggest issues and thanks to Michael Angelo for pointing that out. However...

Legal issues also surround the situation and one big one is compensation. If the landfill site allows scavenging, they are opening themselves up for lawsuits, should a scavenger get hurt while scavenging. And trust me, some AHOLES will try to sue if they do get hurt. A fellow I know/knew, but no longer count as a friend, actually planned to do so until I straightened him out.

Violence issues, believe it or not, surface when the "I saw it first thing" crops up and it does crop up frequently. I have been challenged with physical violence when scavenging, believe it or not. Good thing I can handle myself, or at least could, in the old days.

Anyway, it is not just the Man being the Man. There are darn good reasons to keep careless or uninformed people in their place. My opinion, of course.

Gravity Aided

There is danger , in the dump .
Sharp metal , hazardous waste , vehicles going about their business not expecting you to be there, and a general dangerous environment for the uninitiated . I prefer to go to recyclers , but scrapyards are also dangerous . I wear a hardhat and work boots . Resale stores are really getting better at what they do . You may also cruise neighborhoods on their garbage day . I once found a Schwinn Continental from 1974 in showroom new condition that way . A lot of guys are getting into metals recycling , and sometimes these folks pickup a lot of things when they are out getting computers for precious metals . Habitat for Humanity seems to also have some resale stores in larger towns , and you really never know what you'll find there as well .

rootboy 

Consider yourself lucky4R6S. I live down here on the Cape. You are not allowed to take ANYTHING from the metal pile here. Guys at our "Transfer Station" are surly, rude and full of themselves, drunk on their own power, such as it is. I refer to them as the Dump Nazis.

Esteban32696

I visit a local metal scrap yard & they do not allow people around their piles of steel, & I fully understand why . If they see something that they think they can resell, they set it aside in an area where you can go & look. This is a small town & I like to call it our " MALL ." Usually , bikes are junky WW bikes, but once in awhile I buy something from them, mostly for parts. I did get a Raleigh from them a few months ago. Some items will have a set price & some you can buy per pound .

KonAaron Snake 

I call it parking lot attendantitis. Same thing - little kings of poop mountain who get a tiny little sliver of authority and enjoy it too much.

rhm

I live at a private school that is big enough to have its own little dump area with three dumpsters that are emptied every few weeks. There is a fence around part of it, but no attendant. They lock the gates around 4 pm but you can go around the fence on foot (or bicycle). I have found good stuff in those dumpsters, including occasionally whole bicycles.

Aside from that, I habitually look into dumpsters I pass when I'm on foot and sometimes will even get off my bicycle to look into a dumpster.

Once you get into the mindset of picking over the trash, it is very hard to pass a pile of trash without checking it out.

wrk101

My favorite of all time were the roadside signs where I grew up. The posted sign: "No dumping or picking up of trash". I need to drive out there and take some pics if the signs are still up.

My theory is that dumpers would have a lookout, watching for an approaching car. Then immediately start "picking up" trash as a car approached. So by the time the LEO arrived and asked: "What are you guys doing?" the answer would be: "We're cleaning this place up, look, we have already picked up half a truckload."

Really, between some AHOLE ruining it for the rest of us like Randy pointed out, fears of lawsuits, or whatever, most dumps do not allow picking. The sad part, is if you visit a landfill, you will see they are FULL of recyclable materials: metal, paper, wood, whatever. Its really sad what we throw away.

I used to have to inspect landfills as part of my job in the chemical industry. It is disgusting what people toss.

wahoonc

You could start your own trash company... We have a local guy that did that and now is up to 6 trucks. He has a thrift store where he sells stuff that is picked from the stuff people toss. He told me about a month ago that the thrift store is completely covering his overhead now. Freakin' amazing. He let's me know when a bike comes in, but so far the only one we have bought was a Wally World Schwinn that was in like new condition, I went through greasing and oiling things and we gave it to one our little cousins for Christmas, she has probably ridden 50 miles on it since Christmas, which is a pretty good feat considering that it is only about a mile up, around the barn and back.

Aaron

rootboy 

"we've been using up the earth's resources like there's no tomorrow. So now, there isn't going to be one."

Kurt Vonnegut

Harlan

Funny, I didn't know you were on the Cape. And yes, no dump action for me but I do get funneled the occasional free bike from conversations with just about everyone I know.

auchencrow

For those of you constrained by the rules at your local dump, you could always announce that you have arrived to investigate the strange green glow that disabled a passing satellite.
(The staff will clear out soon enough to let you perform your inspection.)

Of course, it is best to dress for the part, since you never know if you'll find an actual strange green glow there in the dump.

top506

Where on the Cape are you? I've obtained bikes out of both the Chatham and Eastham dumps with no issues. I know that scottryder has scored out of Eastham as well.
My local landfill/transfer station puts bikes aside for me as the result of the investment in a 30 pack of ice-cold Coors Light a few summers ago.

Top

contango 

Bit of a derail here, I recently picked up a rather nice Westminster chiming clock from a guy who picked it up from the dump. Apparently someone brought it to him and asked which bin it should go in. The guy at the dump took it and said he'd take care of it, gave it to my man who sold it to me for not very much on the basis it wasn't working right. It turned out "not working right" meant "chiming slightly out of sync", which I reckon I can fix in about 10 minutes.

AdrianFly

Our town dump contains all the unsavorables listed in this thread. Arguments and fighting over who gets what.. especially on Black Friday. Big sign out front, "WALMART"

puchfinnland

In Finland it fun and difficult.

scavanging the dump is done after hours and you need to sometimes dodge the security company visits,

This is a thrilling experience and best left for people who are fast on their feet!
one of my best claims this year was my trek aluminium 4500 with rock shocks,
of course I claimed several other valuable bikes, there is competition with other pickers,

another is the local metal drive,
it lasts 2weeks and its a free for all,
i am there 2x a day but the serious guys seem to wait around all day and get the best junk.
I have claimed several bikes i have real value, including my now favorite city bike with the kickback hub.

rootboy 

Howdy Top,
I've heard some of the other towns are not so strict. I live in Barnstable so use the Barnstable County dump. Some real jerks working there.
That said, I've never seen much in the metal pile worth salvaging, but I tried to lift a small piece of aluminum stock out of the heap one day and was accosted by an unwholesome fellow.

jet sanchEz

"Hi, if you get any bikes that are in decent shape, put them aside for me and I will give you $10"

Works for me