[quote name='"loveisintheair"']I wouldn't only stop at making it my job man... I'd make that shit my fucking career Are you kidding me? 20$/hr to walk around and pick up trash? Prisoners do that shit for free! God damn man I'm quitting my office job tomorrow and starting this up[/quote] I wouldn't do that. Hell, I wouldn't have even started doing it, but times got tough and I got going. Turned out pretty well I think. If anyone does decide to take it up full time, there are some things you should know. 1. If you want to be successful at all, you need to know the pick up schedules for at least 5 neighborhoods in your city. 1 neighborhood a night works pretty well 2. Don't leave a mess. 3. Don't take more than you can haul. 4. The higher and more clustered the population, the more you can potentially make, if you don't have to compete with homeless people. 5. Always bring a flashlight, gloves, and lots of trash bags.
Where do you live (state? city, suburbs?) Do the police just leave you alone whenever you present them with the ordinance? Has anyone other than the police caught or questioned you? Do you walk around suburbs or city blocks and rummage through bins put out by private residences, or do you go to businesses or public places too (and if you do, do you drive out to locations like that)? Do you hit the same areas every time or what? How many do you collect a day? Do you just carry all of them in a big garbage bag or something? Sorry to bombard you with all of those questions, I'm pretty curious though
[quote name='"Elechronic"']Where do you live (state? city, suburbs?) Do the police just leave you alone whenever you present them with the ordinance? Has anyone other than the police caught or questioned you? Do you walk around suburbs or city blocks and rummage through bins put out by private residences, or do you go to businesses or public places too (and if you do, do you drive out to locations like that)? Do you hit the same areas every time or what? How many do you collect a day? Do you just carry all of them in a big garbage bag or something? Sorry to bombard you with all of those questions, I'm pretty curious though[/quote] Georgetown, Texas is the city. Usually the cops ask to see identification, then I tell them I know my civil liberties and don't believe I've done anything wrong so I shouldn't have to show them id, then I present the ordinance if they persist. That's usually when they leave me alone. I've had the displeasure of running into a few homeowners, usually a solid cover story will keep them off your back, now some of them even put all the cans into a grocery bag so I can just pick it up and go. Mostly private residences, higher chance of getting stopped by the cops if you go through commercial bins due to the sensitivity of some of the information that they throw away. I usually ride a bicycle or hoof it so if a cop does stop me I can throw out a bullshit line about being homeless and needing money to eat (I wear my rattiest, holiest clothes). The most I've ever gotten in a night was around 15,000, that was walking around my neighborhood where I could go home and drop off bags as needed.
Im tempted to do this it sounds like a good idea but let me get this straight, You walk around neighborhoods on trash day and take cans out of peoples recycle bins and take it to recycling centers and make bank?
[quote name='"nnunes"']Im tempted to do this it sounds like a good idea but let me get this straight, You walk around neighborhoods on trash day and take cans out of peoples recycle bins and take it to recycling centers and make bank?[/quote] The night before, but basically you have the right idea.
Fuck I got bags of cans, come take this shit off my hands buddy! Anyone who think's your in the wrong can go break there neck and then tell you not to take their cans. If I ever lose my job, I'm doing just that.
Well, I took a chance on a new neighborhood tonight and it flopped. 3 bags is terrible compared to the 15-20 I usually get at the normal spot. (These are 55 gallon yard bags) It's still early though, I can make up for the crappy pick if I break my own rule and go get the truck.
If its in the trash its free game. Its how I furnish everything lol And if police can go threw our trash because "Its on the curb out of our property" Why can't you!?
damn i wish i knew of this before i was outta highschool id be smoking like a oz a week ahaha. but damn how many blocks does it take you to get 15-20 bags?
I got bored while I was walking around, and started doing some math. Take the urban population of your town. I'll use mine as an example, so 49,880. Divide that in half (24,990). Let's assume that those are the people who recycle. Let's say 20,000 of those people drink at least one soda or beer per day. 20,000 x 7= 140,000 cans per week. Now multiply 140,000 by 4 = 560,000 per month. At $.60 per pound, 560,000 cans is worth $11,200. Multiply that by 12 = $134,400 per year. That $11,200 breaks down to $2,800 per week, or $400 per day. This is all theoretical, please don't use it as a scale.
[quote name='"Apu"']Oh please stop putting real math into this thread. I can't become "the can man"[/quote] 2+2=22. There, better?
This is a really good idea. I give you props. I started this right when I saw this thread. I am going to do this in the morning. Is there a better way to get cans out of the bin then by shoving all the shit around? Also how quiet do you have to be? Lol and finally what is the best way to carry the cans? Just baggin it? Thank you for this idea!
Damn, in Iowa you get $0.05 a can, so 500,000 cans would be $25,000 I wish people would leave bags of cans outside of their houses around here
[quote name='"Godly smoker"']This is a really good idea. I give you props. I started this right when I saw this thread. I am going to do this in the morning. Is there a better way to get cans out of the bin then by shoving all the shit around? Also how quiet do you have to be? Lol and finally what is the best way to carry the cans? Just baggin it? Thank you for this idea![/quote] Before you start doing this, I would advise you to check county and city laws first. Some places in California and New York have outlawed it completely. To answer your questions, no, you pretty much have to dive in and get your hands dirty. You want to be as quiet as possible, remember, it's late at night and people are trying to sleep. Yeah, just bag em and go. And remember, you get back what you put in. Some houses are goldmines, others have nothing whatsoever. The key is to stay optimistic.