is it illegal to take things from the dump?

HGSR

HGSR

craigslistaholic
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Location
kings mountain nc
is it against the law to take things from the dump? if there are no signs about not taking things....
 
Rule of thumb- if it doesn't actually belong to you, don't take it. Just because someone threw it away doesn't make it yours for the taking.
 
I worked for the county years ago and on rainy days me and a couple of guys would go to the dump and see what they had in the scrap metal pile. They would let us take whatever we wanted. I scored a battery charger, a couple of weed eaters, built a mountain bike, and some wheels for an old truck I had. Best thing to do is ask someone at the front gate.
 
well if someone wanted it it wouldnt end up at the dump... the police dont need a warrant to search your trash..
 
I got a bobcat tire there once. Still running it on the machine today. I thought it was a fair trade, 4 XJ tires for 1 skidsteer tire.
 
a game warden once told me, "if its not your land you are trespassing"...... kinda the same...
 
I see it like this they threw it out its at the dump if you want it why not take it and keep it from taking up space in the dump. I pick stuff up off the side of the road that people are throwing out have got several mowers weedeaters etc its trash take it if you can use it dont see what it would hurt.
 
Yes it is... most landfills have police make rounds after hours and they can arrest you for trespassing, etc.

The issue is not just trash is there but most also have close to $1M worth of equipment sitting there not to mention the LF offices, etc.

If you're taking metal / copper /wiring /etc from C&D facilities, etc... I wouldn't get caught.

I would also guess there are signs... look around the scale house...


On a side note... if there's something you want out of the landfill (and it's not going to bring the owners any revenue) just ask the manager if you can have it... they'll probably let you. I've seen people haul boat hulls, bikes, etc. out. But with today's economy if it has any value (metals, etc.) they typically will salvage it.
 
In Burke, they have several area's where you have to put metal, brush, house hold and so on.
I once went in there with a load, and saw the metal pile. I dumped off my stuff, and then went and got a few pieces of metal. The guy at the shack told me I'd have to put it back. I looked over at his truck and all the stuff he had piled next to it. I told him I would, if he did. I left with the metal!

This was during operating hours though.
 
i dont live near a land fill ist like a community dump had the big trash bins you throw stuff down into.

whats a C&D facilities?

i just saw a idea for some items that i see around there.
 
City/county dumps have their own rules that you should abide by. As for trash before it gets there; once it hits a dumpster or trash cans/piles on the side of the road it's fair game. Trespassing laws still apply.

I picked up a decent stereo receiver on the side of the road yesterday. I've found that if people put stuff by their trash can or by the dumpster rather than in it there is a pretty good chance it still works. People put it there hoping it'll go to use rather than going to the landfill.
 
HGSR said:
i dont live near a land fill ist like a community dump had the big trash bins you throw stuff down into.

whats a C&D facilities?

i just saw a idea for some items that i see around there.
Click to expand...

What you're referring to is most likely a transfer station... you take your stuff there... they haul it to the landfill... Most are owned by a LF mogul (Waste Management, Waste Industries, WCA, Republic, etc.)... Ask and maybe they'll give it to you, otherwise it's stealing.

C&D - construction and demolition debris
 
The guys at the Mooresville collection site always looked and poked around the back of my truck EVERYTIME I went. For a long time, I just thought they were making sure that I wasn't dumping fluids or some other illegal dumpings.

Then I noticed that they just wanted first dibbs on my junk.

If it were on the side of the road by the trash cans, grab it up! When in high school, we dumpster dived behind Kmart, belk and a shoe store. Always had some nice shoes in there!
 
Back when I worked at a furniture store we would grab stuff all the time. We would haul old stuff we got out of people's houses (mattresses, chairs, etc) and would drive it in and dump it. Whatever we saw that we wanted we threw in the back of the truck, the people never cared what we took. One time a guy from a local custom car shop came and dumped a truckload of factory seats and wheels from some cars. They were almost brand new, we loaded up the truck and hauled it out. Made a few hundred bucks selling the stuff on craigslist too!
 
at our transfer station/dump, if I ask the workers for something, they usually (actually always) give it to me. "dumps" usually transfer the "trash" to somewhere else where it is sorted and recycled and people make $$$ off of it. Yes it is stealing it regardless of value.

Talking to one of the workers at our "convenience" centers, once the trash enters the dumpster its property of the county. But, I can usually talk him out of just about anything I want out of it. Got a few nice wheelbarrows, garden trailers, and an aerorator for the yard and a few other misc yard tools :D
 
The 'dump' was the one that set up the resources and are the ones paying the bills and eating the costs (well maybe not if it's county run, points the same though)...not you. You want to take things from a dump, start your own. Taking something that is not yours, is stealing...it's not that difficult to ask permission.
 
we are a bunch of dumpster divers!
Guess folks like us is where the phrase "One mans trash is another mans treasure" came from!
 
upnover said:
we are a bunch of dumpster divers!
Guess folks like us is where the phrase "One mans trash is another mans treasure" came from!
Click to expand...


to some we are thieves! LOL i dont feel like iam stealing but on a diffrent note i have got to the bottom of my question.... yes its illegal to take junk from the dump. once it hits the ground it belongs to the county or who ever runs the place. here in cleveland county there have what some refer to as the trash police. carries a gun and his ride has blue lights. so for us who seek second hand treasure looks like were criminals, and will have to take a better approach.
 
HGSR said:
once it hits the ground it belongs to the county or who ever runs the place. ... so for us who seek second hand treasure looks like were criminals, and will have to take a better approach.
Click to expand...

better approach = hang out by the entrance and watch every truck coming in, snag stuff before it hits the ground... :flipoff2::lol:

Or - open your own dump site?
 
RatLabGuy said:
better approach = hang out by the entrance and watch every truck coming in, snag stuff before it hits the ground... :flipoff2::lol:
Or - open your own dump site?
Click to expand...
:flipoff2:
 
Sounds an awful lot like recycling to me...:shrug:

It's the dump, (particularly at the landfill) they are going to bulldoze it into the pile anyhow.
 
I have been known to set some things at the road long before trash day so people can get it if they want. got rid of a couple of tvs and some other stuff that way. saved me a trip to the dump and maybe somebody got some use out of it.
 
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