Curbside "free stuff", sanctimonious environmental destruction.

[PowerToThePeople]

Something that gets under my skin, the dropping of your unwanted on the curb with a "free" sign (or no sign.) We think we are doing someone of lesser means a flavor by gifting them these great items. But what is really happening? Sure, some of the stuff gets picked up and used by someone who will use it. Others get picked up by those with little or no means and typically end up discarded inappropriately, in another part of your town after they become too much of a burden. Not very different from what you did with them after they became a burden to you. Out of sight out of mind.?

Why not just donate these items to a house of charity or other such operation where it can offer employment to another person to stock it and sell it?

[hollysmom]

1. I put out free wood from my oak trees. a lot of people have efficient wood burning fireplaces,

I don't, I have an inefficient wood burning fireplace. So when large branches ore trimmed or fall, I put it out for them. Other than that, everything seems to have a recycling day, but when I put out a couch or chair, it is gone by the end of the day, we have an upholstery store down the street, I guess I could call them, but they always seem to find it.
The only thing I have but out is bulk white goods and we have a recycling day for that in this town. so, not such a bad thing.
I do donate older TVs. No one wants an old computer anymore.

[PowerToThePeople]

2. I see a lot of electronics in my neighbourhood on the curbs

That stuff is the most damaging imo. I take mine to a e-cycler.

[hollysmom]

11. we call the town and they pick it up to recycle once a week.

you have to tell them it is there. heck they have sneaker recycle days and more. But mostly I try to gift my poorer friends with the last computer when I want to upgrade. as a senior, I have lots of poorer friends. The problem I have is they return their older ones to me. Now I have some very old computers (oldest the still working XT from 1975), I keep thinking they have some value, but I think I will remove the hard drives and put them on the curb and call the town along with my older phones.

[w0nderer]

75. older computers

you can sometimes sell off to the retro market (computer collectors)
and in some cases even museums

[The_Commonist]

3. I don't know, seems to work pretty well around here...

I've put "free" stuff on the curb a number of times, and it's usually gone within an hour.
I've even gone outside and talked to people taking my stuff, and then gone back inside and got some more stuff for them that I didn't want anymore.

I suppose it depends on where you live. Very densely populated around here. "One man's trash is another man's treasure" and all that.

But then, I'm obviously sanctimonious.

[PowerToThePeople]

4. Do you know what happens with it after it is gone? n/t

[Journeyman]

13. Do you know what the "corporate charity" (Goodwill, Salvation Army) does with it . . .

if they can't sell it or process it? Do they ensure it gets recycled properly? Or in the name of profit do they also discard it improperly?

We can never be responsible for the other fellow. We can only be accountable for ourselves.

[PowerToThePeople]

25. In my state, we have state run e-cycle program that they work with

They do dispose of them properly if you take them to an approved state drop off. The lists are online for locations.

[The_Commonist]

14. Do I know what happens to anything once it leaves my sight?

I can just put any old stuff out on the curb on Thursday nights, (except electronics) and the garbage men will take it. Or if it's got a "FREE" sign on it, maybe someone who can use it will take it first.

Do I know what happens to all that recycling that I put out in separate bags?
Yes... I do... It all ends up in one big pile at a transfer station somewhere and then it goes to the landfill.

I really think this is a dumb line of questioning you've got going here, but then I'm sanctimonious, so of course I would think that.

[MADem]

5. Because 'houses of charity' are VERY picky about what they'll take.

That's reason one. I'm guessing you haven't donated furnishings to a 'house of charity' lately. They don't want that "college kid apartment" sofa or dining set. They want the gently-used, looks brand new ones. That sturdy chair with the patch on the arm? No thanks. That solid table with the odd scratches and stains? No thanks. But that stuff is PERFECT for the right person who either can make a slipcover, or sand/stain or paint.

Second, most curbside refuse/recycling pick up programs allow "one large item" per week. If no one picks the stuff up, the sign gets removed and the garbageman takes it.

I have a beautiful, restored radio from the late 1920s that I picked off a 'free stuff' trash heap thirty years ago. It needed a few new tubes and a cord. Still works. Great sound.

Nothing wrong with "free stuff." Go into the Goodwill and see how much they want for that "free stuff" you're talking about. Free is WAY cheaper than those prices.

[PowerToThePeople]

9. My area does not have that "one large item" program.

I do agree that some of it gets put to good use in this way.

There is no way to verify that those items are disposed of properly if you do not dispose of them properly yourself.

[cascadiance]

36. Wish I could have had that "one large item program" where I lived 10 years ago...

I needed to get rid of a couch that I'd just replaced and had put it out in the garage for Salvation Army to pick up. They didn't accept it so I had to put it in the garage instead of my car that night before calling up Goodwill to pick it up later. Well, therefore my car was in the driveway instead of the couch that night and got "picked up" (stolen!) instead by a car thief who cannibalized it before we found it later near the border. Goodwill did take the couch the following week, and therefore since then, Salvation Army doesn't get a dime from me any more, and I take all of my stuff to Goodwill instead.

[PowerToThePeople]

38. I am sorry

That is an awful story. My neighbourhood is also a dump site for stolen vehicles, I have called the police several times over the years when I have seen them dumped here.

[MADem]

79. Everywhere I have lived in USA has, but I have lived in cities or

dense suburbs, by and large, places that have good trash pickup, and in the last couple of decades, recycling as well.

Stuff like microwaves or computers, though, can't be left on the sidewalk--the people who live in the house or apartment behind the thing will be ticketed for it and it won't be removed.


I do think that the "FREE STUFF" sign is a good way to recycle old furniture that is still decent and can be used by people starting out or people having a tough time making ends meet, because it is still structurally decent, and is usually things a charity shop will not take--a lot of people who can't afford that kitchen table can afford to tie it to the roof of the car and drive slowly home. Most of my friends in college relied on people throwing stuff out to furnish their apartments.

This has been formalized, too, in the FREECYCLING NETWORK program.... https://www.freecycle.org/

[villager]

6. Because there's a lot of stuff houses of charity won't take

Or "deign to take," as the case may be.

It's a culture drowning in "stuff," to be sure, but I'd rather see someone try to get their own excess "stuff" into someone else's hands, rather than straight into the landfill.

[Demit]

7. In my city, people drive around neighborhoods to pick up discarded stuff & sell it.

It's not the great condescending thing you make it out to be, to put unwanted stuff at the curb. I've gotten some useful things, some antique-y things, just walking in my neighborhood the day before trash day.

[840high]

80. I got my pc desk that way. Person

was upgrading their office. Our community puts stuff at curb and it rarely is not gone within hours. My daughter got a boy's dresser that way.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Is this from the Onion?

"Others get picked up by those with little or no means and typically end up discarded inappropriately"

Really? Someone goes through the effort to pick it up just to discard it in the woods somewhere?

[PowerToThePeople]

10. I see it in my area. Yes.

Not on purpose, but when you have no means, how long will you carry that old printer around in your shopping cart before it gets to be too much of a burden and you dump it, wherever you happen to be. I see such dumping places around my town.

Why don't we of better means dispose of it properly to begin with?

[TheCowsCameHome]

24. I'd rather see someone make use of a useable item

rather than have it go to a landfill.

If you don't want it, the next person that comes along will probably make good use of it.

[uppityperson]

12. Giving things away for free rather than to a place to sell them is "sanctimonious"?

Definition : making a show of being morally superior to other people.

Seriously? Rather than making someone buy them from a "house of charity" (and what is that?), giving them away means you feel you are morally superior?

People who buy things rather than get them for free don't discard them inappropriately while those who pick up free things do? Isn't one of your points that people who bought things should not discard them inappropriately, by the curb?

[PowerToThePeople]

20. The house of charity need not be one that sells stuff

People who buy things rather than get them for free don't discard them inappropriately while those who pick up free things do? Isn't one of your points that people who bought things should not discard them inappropriately, by the curb?

This is a valid point. Someone getting an item from goodwill could easily dispose of it inappropriately too.

I guess my point is, if you want it disposed of properly, the only way to assure that happens is to dispose of it properly yourself.

[uppityperson]

23. If you want control over it, you need to keep it in your possession. Once it is no longer

yours, it is no longer yours. Rather like giving a gift of money to someone then trying to make sure they spend it as you want them to. The only way to maintain control over what happens to something is keep possession of it.

Let's say someone bought a couch 15 years ago and puts it out on the curb with a free sign. You are concerned someone will pick it up and eventually....put it out on the curb?

[PowerToThePeople]

28. I do not want the couch on the curb at all.

There are piles of rotting furniture littering my neighbourhood. Someone did not want to take it the 10 minute drive to dispose of it properly. It now rots on a curb.

[uppityperson]

31. Do you think people feel morally superior by putting furniture out for free rather

than donating it to a place to sell to someone?

[PowerToThePeople]

40. I think it could play a part. Yes. n/t

[uppityperson]

47. Wow. Giving stuff for free vs making someone pay is because you feel morally superior. Wow. nt

[MADem]

81. If I have a table that a charity shop might sell for thirty or forty bucks, and I put it

out and someone who needs a table grabs it for free, then I feel as though I've spared them from spending thirty or forty bucks that they can use for gas, groceries, a movie matinee, whatever ...or sitting on the floor eating breakfast! It doesn't make me feel "morally superior," it reminds me of my friends of my youth! Circle of life, and all that...not everyone has a large family with attics full of old furniture and old crockery that can be reused.

If someone can use the stuff, why not give them first crack at it for free?

[msongs]

15. In Honolulu, each neighborhood has a once a month bulk pick up day for anything too large

for a trash container. lots of useful and good condition furniture, house hold goods, building stuff like plywood.
people grab it for use or resale at the swap meet etc. What is left gets picked up by the city. Used stuff can be very cheap here as there is a high turnover of people coming and going and moving often.

[lumberjack_jeff]

16. Wait... what?

If the stuff is still useful, then what is the problem in it being taken by someone with little or no means?

If it isn't useful, then don't give it to charity - giving trash to a charity is the opposite of charity - you're making them hire someone to collect your trash, cover your dump fees and to thank you for the privilege.

My charity drives a truck around the county once a week collecting items donated by households. The quality of the items donated is getting worse and worse each year. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to the dump to get rid of these "donations" because no thrift stores will take it.

I think next year we're going to collect clothing only.

[PowerToThePeople]

22. Thank you

My charity drives a truck around the county once a week collecting items donated by households. The quality of the items donated is getting worse and worse each year. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to the dump to get rid of these "donations" because no thrift stores will take it.

I wish more people would do this. It is basically the point of my OP.

[uppityperson]

26. His point was people donate crap to charities. Wasn't your point that people should donate to

charities as somehow charities will make sure it is all disposed of properly? Are you now saying rather than paying to take something to the dump, give it to a charity and make them pay for pickup, sorting, disposal?

[PowerToThePeople]

35. If it is good enough.

We are all online, why not take the 10 minutes to put a free ad on the web. Then you know whoever is coming to get it will likely want the item and not just redispose of it in an unknown method.

[Person 2713]

55. Freecycle is a good meeting point

[PowerToThePeople]

57. I agree.

Have never used it, but have seen it and think is a great method to find homes for items you no longer need or want.

[Person 2713]

73. I have gone on there so many times looking for something in particular only to see someone

posting for something I have in my possession but I am not using . Great to get a nudge and give it away. Of course I have been successful and found many things free there . My friend found her wedding dress on freecycle . A nice one too

[MADem]

83. Poor people who are new to USA are not "online." Online costs money.

Not everyone can afford these things--people who can't get together enough money for a couch aren't paying for broadband every month, never mind computers.

They aren't spending their days on the computer, they are at their three jobs, and they call home on their Pay-as-you-use phone. Their kids go to the library to do their computer homework--or they stay late in the school computer lab.

We are NOT all online. Some of "us" don't have computers and some of "us" are lucky to have one small, cheap early model digital tv with an antennae to pick up local stations.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/08/19/the-60-million-americans-who-dont-use-the-internet-in-six-charts/

.....But there are also some disturbing racial differences that concern academics and policymakers. While Internet use more than doubled in Hispanic and black households since 2000, they still lag significantly behind white and Asian households -- who, at 82.7 percent, have the highest Internet use of any surveyed groups.


.....There’s also a stubborn rural versus urban gap in Internet connectivity and frequency of access. Per the Commerce Department, 74 percent of urban households use the Internet, versus 62 percent of rural households. That gap gets even worse when it comes to broadband adoption -- 72 (urban) versus 58 (rural) percent. Non-users tend to live in the southeast.

So...you can put up your online ad--but the person most in need of your 'charitable' donation might not ever see it.

[lumberjack_jeff]

34. Your point about obsolete electronics is sound.

Charities like Goodwill are often equipped to accept (and get paid for) e-waste in a way that a curbside collector is not.

[PowerToThePeople]

37. Those are the major items I am concerned with

I broadened the spectrum of my OP beyond just old electronics, as I do see other items in my area littering up vacant areas.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

17. If you're driving down the street and see a sign that says "Free grips" you should stop and get one.

[uppityperson]

19. !

Thank you

[Le Taz Hot]

41. Ha ha!

[PowerToThePeople]

44. Ok

[City Lights]

61. LOL!

Good one. Really good one!

[Warpy]

18. Charities around here want items in excellent condition

and that means my old microwave (which is slow but still works) with the worn out keypad won't be accepted. I'll put it out for the trash guys as soon as we get a rain free Sunday-Wednesday period. The only sign on it will say "works."

I live in an incredibly poor area, so much of what I put out gets taken. People ring my doorbell and ask for permission and I always say anything that hits the curb is fair game. I wish them luck with the item(s).

Any really good stuff goes to the charity thrift shop.

[DawgHouse]

21. Some of my husband's fondest memories are of him and his Dad

driving around the streets of Philly on trash day, looking for small appliances that his Dad could repair and sell to make a few bucks.

[PowerToThePeople]

43. That is a great story

I agree, there are positive aspects too. I do not wish to take away those, only minimize the negative aspects.

[DawgHouse]

48. My husband just reminded me that they "walked" around the neighborhood, they didn't drive.

But one good thing about it is all this father/son tinkering taught my husband how to fix just about anything!

[tabasco]

27. I'll get outraged about this later.

Promise.

[PowerToThePeople]

30. I needed a distraction from my typical outrage

[tabasco]

64. I know some people who used to live in New Jersey

I was amazed to discover that they had operated a lucrative business just driving around rich neighborhoods and looking for this free stuff. They would recondition the items and resell the stuff and made a good bit of money doing this. Very, very nice people.

[Luminous Animal]

29. I'm happy that people put free stuff on the curb.

I've taken home a camp stove, pots for plants, a brand new make-up bag, a propeller hat, lots of books, some music, a butcher block table, 2 usable tents, roller luggage, a sewing ironing board, a blender, a night stand, picture frames, a vacuum cleaner. The blender, new, costs $150.00. The plastic ring under the blade was cracked so we ordered a new one for 2 bucks plus postage. The vacuum cleaner had a ball stuck in the hose. We removed the ball and have been using it for 15 years. The butcher block table had stains. We sanded them out.

[PowerToThePeople]

32. I have done similarly too. n/t

[luvspeas]

33. A lot of people who pick up that stuff are hoarders...

I know. I grew up in a hoarder house. The few times I have used freecycle I get deluged with people whose cars looked just like ours did. One exception...when we bought our house there was a small gas stove in our basement. The guy who took it really needed it and I was so glad it wasn't going to rust in someone's yard forever.

[Le Taz Hot]

39. How could you POSSIBLY know what happens to the free stuff

once it leaves your house? The answer is, you don't.

I've had whole sets of perfectly good furniture I sat out on the front yard and it was gone in no time. Not everyone has the resources to take stuff to thrift stores, which, btw, do NOT recycle. If they don't sell it it goes in the landfill. Further, many people, even if they have a truck to haul off furniture may not have the manpower.

Once a year my city does something called Operation Clean Up. On designated days you're allowed to put your "junk" out to the curb. The city comes by, picks it up and recycles most of it. However, my experience is that anytime I've put out, say, a perfectly good (but pink) toilet or a refrigerator or washing machine that no longer works, people come by in their trucks and pick them up -- to be repaired and sold, before the trucks ever show up. What the hell do I care? I get it off my property for free, someone comes along, picks it up, repairs it and makes a little money, I'm good with that. It's all recycling.

And, by the say, I've also done my share of curb-side pick ups. I got some AMAZING garden things from a evicted tenant down the street who didn't get all his/her stuff out and the owner put it out on the street.

How you want to define ANY of that as "sanctimonious" is completely beyond me.

[PowerToThePeople]

42. We have once a year pickup of large items too

It is a good program that I guess should be expanded upon to be more often.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

45. If it's worth 'selling', then it's worth giving away.

And without making someone else a profit. Did you know that only a portion of what Goodwill makes selling donated items actually winds up with charities? The person who owns/runs the store makes a nice profit off of things other people have given him because they think they're helping others.

Heck, half the stuff I put out is taken by my neighbours, some of whom ask me to help them carry it home. Other stuff is collected by scrap collectors, who take it to recycling plants and sell it for some small profit themselves.

[PowerToThePeople]

49. I am all for giving stuff away if it can help others

Just the method of putting out on the curb can lead to end results that I am not fond of.

Listing on a "for free" website? Sure. Then you know whoever is calling is truly interested.

[Cleita]

46. Part of the reason is that the houses of charity are getting very fussy about what they want.

They used to repair and refurbish stuff. Or sometimes they piled a lot of the junk in bins to be bought for pennies. I know I used to raid those bins for my art projects when I was in school, but not today. Everything has to be mint condition or they don't want it. Also, the garbage pick up is getting fussy too. If it doesn't fit into your container, they won't pick it up if you put it alongside your containers. So people end up hoping someone can use it.

[PowerToThePeople]

52. "So people end up hoping someone can use it"

I agree. This was the meaning behind my OP. You are putting it out there hoping it gets some use and not end up in a trash pile somewhere other than your curb.

[Cleita]

65. I don't myself. I do have a junk pile for stuff I can't donate, recycle, compost or put in the

garbage. One of my neighbors, who has a truck and trailer, makes a trip to the local dump a couple of times a year. He takes my stuff and I split the cost that the dump charges us for dumping. Not everyone can haul stuff to the dump. I think local sanitation companies or districts probably need to address this problem.

[PowerToThePeople]

68. I do this once or twice a year myself. n/t

[ForgoTheConsequence]

53. They're picky because they have to be.

People donate garbage and it costs money and time to dispose of it, money that nonprofits don't have. I managed in this industry for a long time and I have seen people try to "donate" everything from used tires to piss stained carpet. If more people would volunteer their time to repair and refurbished it would be different, unfortunately the give and take that these places are suppose to promote has turned into take and take on part of the consumer.

[Cleita]

59. The old model was to employ people, like skid row people, maybe today they would be homeless, to

sort out stuff and fix them, clean the clothes etc.. It was to employ people who were unemployable and what was sold was considered extra. I can see in the day of high rents, it might be not a good model now. But I have donated stuff that I thought was pretty good stuff that maybe needed some repair or painting. If I could do it myself, I would sell it myself so maybe charities need to find another way.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

66. For some places that was a viable model.

We employed a few people for a living wage, the rest were volunteers.

But again you're not entitled to have someone take your junk, and it's tacky to expect someone else to take your problem and be able to do something spectacular with it. After all, there is a reason YOU are giving it away.


You're welcome to volunteer your time if you think these places need a hand, they often exist in a democratic capacity and you could give them your two cents in person.

[luvspeas]

56. resale places have to have stuff in mint condition...

because you can't fix broken plastic, messed up electronics or scratched up veneer particle board. That great old stuff is long gone. Go to any garage sale and it's hello pilled polyester and appliances with broken plastic parts.

[Cleita]

62. I wasn't talking about that kind of stuff. We do have recycling for those things.

I do know garbage is garbage.

[luvspeas]

67. have you been to a resale shop lately?

It's almost all crap. One step from the trash heap. The things that are quality are put aside in their "special" section and the prices are inflated to be unattainable to the average person. They become indulgences.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

69. Maybe at an antique shop.

Most places sell things at 25-50% of retail. Unfortunately people think that they're entitled to stuff for pennies on the dollar or even free because the stuff is donated. Again, entitled consumer mentality.

[Cleita]

70. Yes, I know they do that. They almost become vintage stores no different than the

antique and vintage clothing stores that line the downtown street of where I live.

[Snobblevitch]

50. Where do you live where you witness this sort of problem?

While I have not put stuff out by the curb in a long time, I have picked up some good stuff. Years ago, the hinge was broken on the center console of my GMC truck. Amazingly enough, I found the exact console in percect shape sitting by the curb.

[Throd]

51. If it wasn't worth something to someone, it wouldn't get taken. People like free stuff.

[elehhhhna]

54. you should drop to your knees and thank the deity of your choice

For having such first world problems. Seriously.

[luvspeas]

58. no because the problem is not the stuff...

it's our need for the stuff. I find that the need for the stuff runs across all economic lines. If you have the resources to have a lot. You have a lot. If you don't have resources you get stuff at the dollar store. but you still get stuff. Again, the hoarder mentality. It's a byproduct of our society.

[PowerToThePeople]

60. I agree. This is certainly a first world problem. n/t

[JCMach1]

63. Not a zero sum game... some of those charities exploit the people who work for them... so, cut out

the middle man

at 0$

[Gormy Cuss]

71. I furnished my first apartment with free stuff from the street

Anything that wasn't upholstered was fair game for me --tables, wooden chairs, a dresser, a television, other good stuff.
Later on when I had the funds to buy what I wanted that same stuff went out on the street and was picked up by people walking by or by the truck for a local second hand store. It was rarely on the sidewalk for more than a couple hours.

This was in the Boston area and my experience was common. It was old school "freecycling."

[Cleita]

72. I did the same. My roomie and I lived close to Beverly Hills.

The alleyways were where the dumpsters and garbage cans were kept. We cruised the alleys on trash day before the trucks got there and founds some very nice stuff we were able to clean up.

[djean111]

74. I have gotten really nice furniture from curb-sides.

And, at least in my neighborhood, any large appliance, working or not, will be picked up almost immediately by people who will either fix and sell them, or take them to recycle and get a little money. Win-win. I put a sticky note on appliances with info on whether it works or not.

[X_Digger]

76. You mean like goodwill that takes advantage of the mentally ill and does little actual charity?

Or salvation army that values preaching over feeding?

Yeah, right.

I'd rather give something to someone that needs it than have some corporate schmuck take 75% of the value of my item for 'overhead' (including his outrageous salary) and the pay a developmentally disabled person less than minimum wage to stock it, so that someone who needs it has to pay for what was a free item.

Fuck that.

[JustAnotherGen]

77. We put the peptones pink

And maroon toilets out there when we renovated last year. Two houses down a woman made them into flower pots! She gave me an extra large tree chunk for my gnome house I'm making.


Goodwill doesn't take porcelain toilets

[JEB]

78. Hey, if it keeps people from buying more new shit

even temporarily, it's a good thing.

[LeftyMom]

82. Nope.

My neighbors are hard working but mostly struggling. If I put a working anything or serviceable bit of furniture out somebody who needs it will promptly take it. If I put some valuable recyclable out (like a broken water heater) the neighbor who has a scrap hauling business will save me the trouble and make a few bucks.

Actual garbage I can take to the dump, but I only take useful stuff to a thrift shop if nobody I know can use it. Taking a bag of kid's clothes to a neighbor with a smaller kid is faster, more efficient and more charitable than taking the bag to the Goodwill a few miles away, so that they can charge some struggling family for them.

[MicaelS]

84. Because too may charities are too damn picky.

That's why. They only want "good" stuff they can easily turn around and sell. With little or nothing for them to do either cleaning or refurbishing.

I gave a sofa away fro free to a neighbor, after 2 other "charities" came over and basically said, "That is dirty, we don't have the time to clean things up."

[msanthrope]

85. My neighbor gave me a basket. For free. nt

[cyberswede]

86. I've put stuff on the curb; our town is small & 20 mi away from a donation store

Most things have disappeared within an hour. The one time the item was still there at sundown, we took it to the donation store the next day.

I put out our computer desk several years ago with a "free" sign on it, and unbeknownst to me, my then-7-year-old re-wrote "not for sale" on the sign, because he was sentimental about it. LOL

I've also grabbed stuff off the curb & fixed it up to use it. I consider it recycling.

[Arugula Latte]

87. Honestly, this is one of the odder posts I've seen lately