[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by LateBoomer

yes, good point. if I have anything that actually works, I may just stick it out in front of the trash pile. if someone else can use it or sell it, good for them.

It was just so bizarre watching this happen this morning in front of my eyes. not something I had seen before. I just happened to be at my desk, looking out the window

Working items and things of some possible value can be given to Goodwill or other thrift stores. We like to support them because I buy things from them myself that I make use of. It is a "what goes around, comes around" situation. And the thrift stores have trucks that will pick up large items.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Albany

I live in an upscale development up north in the summer and the pickers are welcome here, and I have seen them come by for decades. It is possible you just never saw them, but I bet you have them. Last winter in the Villages I left out a vacuum I had come to hate, gone in an hour. A push lawn mower I never used. Gone. A beat up Weber grill, needed new parts for the second or third time. Gone. Just an example.

What does upscale, mean?

[lpkruege1]

Originally Posted by LateBoomer

just watched a fairly young couple in a pickup truck pull up to our trash pile at the end of our driveway and pick through it.

clearly not residents.

I hadn't realized locals were doing this? Is this typical? Not that I really give a damn (not like they strewn the stuff about) but its not something I ever saw in the previous places I've lived

Did you throw out your bank statement? How about a credit card bill? Stock statement? Renewal notice? Shred it or take a chance of identity theft.

[Velvet]

When we first got our house at Mallory we put out a few bigger things from past owner and called for large item pick up. A couple of guys with a wooden trailer came by and asked if it was ok for them to take it. I thought they were very considerate to ask first. So cancelled the large item pick up order.

[Byte1]

My spouse wanted me to order a new washing machine so the day of delivery, I removed the old one (still working) and pushed it out into the drive for the delivery truck to remove when they brought the new one. There was a removal charge. I turned around and what seemed like five minutes later, I discovered that someone had taken the old washer when I was not looking. I contacted the folks where I purchased the new machine and told them to refund the pickup and removal charge, which they did.
I admit that I have stopped and picked up some shelving to be used in my garage that I noticed at the end of someone's drive the day before trash pickup. One person's trash is another person's treasure.

[Byte1]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

What does upscale, mean?

A bathroom scale that ONLY shows false HIGHER numbers........

[Villagesgal]

I always shredd my paperwork. I put anything someone might use or want out next to the bag, often it's gone very quickly. I have also picked up a light fixture that now hangs in my dining room, put out the old one, it now I'm sure hangs in someone else's dining room. The new areas are always the best, people put out perfectly good items in the trash as they buy brand new for their brand new home. One man's trash, another's treasure.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by gdennis317

May be harmless but may be looking for Documents with your info on them. Shred !

Agreed! My wife and I shred any documents and important papers with credit card last 4 numbers on them. Thieves can use algorithms that can take the last 4 numbers of your credit card or your SS number and match them with your name and address - then they can drain your credit card or bank accounts. And TV Landers would be more vulnerable because our generation was more trusting and less defensive - and has more money!

[giorgio1948]

Originally Posted by LateBoomer

just watched a fairly young couple in a pickup truck pull up to our trash pile at the end of our driveway and pick through it.

clearly not residents.

I hadn't realized locals were doing this? Is this typical? Not that I really give a damn (not like they strewn the stuff about) but its not something I ever saw in the previous places I've lived

We had two trash bags slashed and rummaged through before pick up in our Village. Went out the next day and bought a shredder. Be careful what personal info goes in the trash.

[gonzo1706]

Be careful with Bank and credit card info in trash.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

But, how do you know this so definitely stated?

I agree with the original post because IF(?) they are picking up whole trash bags, they are going home to sort through it for valuable information and using an algorithm to get everything about a resident. They are not innocently looking for an item to resell. Pack and ship shreds about 6 months' worth of our sensitive documents for about $ 7. That is good insurance. Other items that should not be casually thrown away are prescription bottles - name, address, and other information needs to be permanently obscured in some way.

[cassjax2]

I’ve had it happen often. They are usually neat and polite. When I moved from my other home to this one i would sit at my desk in my office and watch them pick through. Just glad someone could use something I was discarding.

[Curtisbwp]

In the past I would assist my grandfather, a crusty old Irish man who was confronted with signs that said "Help wanted, Irish need not apply" "TOTB" was the fall back to feed his family. He was VERY handy and could fix or rebuild just about anything. "Top of the Barrel" one man's trash is another man's treasure.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by LateBoomer

yes, I realize there are no "hard gates" here as where I came from, which may account for some of this. just an observation, not a complaint

There are some people that THINK that they are safer living in this gated community.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by Velvet

We have the cans up north, smelly, noisy and people walking by actually walk on my property to deposit their dog’s doo in them, sometimes in the wrong bin. I have to bleach the bin out turn it upside down to dry. The raccoons come for them, they have learned to turn the expensive raccoon proof handles the city insisted we all pay for. What a night mare!

I love our system here in TV. Not even one animal ever looked into my bags, food goes into garbage disposal. Garbage men drive by, pickup QUIET bags, throw in truck, gone in seconds. Come twice a week. Classy!

We used to put out the garbage bags the night BEFORE pickup - animals often shredded the bags and made a big mess. We now put the bags out in the morning OF the pickup.