You might literally be buying trash on Amazon

Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by on_and_off on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:03PM (#21818118)

I don't know if that a French thing or not, but in France, in many cities there is a day designated as "encombrants" (~ bulky). Basically for when you want to throw out large objects.

There are people roaming out the streets on that day and hoping to find something worth reselling before it gets picked up by the city.

As far as I know, we haven't encountered the issue of too much stuff being thrown out that day, but maybe this is because this happens regularly.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by reaperducer on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:32PM (#21818464)

I don't know if that a French thing or not, but in France, in many cities there is a day designated as "encombrants" (~ bulky). Basically for when you want to throw out large objects.

I had this when I lived in Nevada. It was every other Tuesday and called "bulk trash day." You could put out pretty much anything that wasn't commercial construction waste or hazardous waste.

There were also scavengers who knew when bulk trash day was for each neighborhood, and would drive around the neighborhoods in trucks taking things off the curb to sell at flea markets.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by liotier on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:28PM (#21818417)

Yes, I'm French and, on "jour des encombrants", when I put out something which is usable, I always make sure it is obvious, clean and visible... It is usually picked up within the hour by either some student or a junk trader. Conversely, I've found surprisingly useful things to use in my home. I like the spirit of ultralocal reuse !

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by myself248 on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:49PM (#21819288)

I've been leaving notes on my interesting stuff when I set it at the curb. Figure I can save someone some time and help them decide if it's a problem they want to tackle, _before_ they get it home and diagnose it.

On a washing machine, I put a note like "Transmission bad, motor and controls probably fine, no leaks."

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by padraic7a on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:07PM (#21818155)

When I lived in Germany it was the same. But rather than people looking to sell item it was people looking to furnish their homes. A great system really.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by benibela on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @05:56PM (#21819874)

Good thing there are not many bed bugs in Germany and thrown away furniture

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by majewsky on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @05:04AM (#21823424)

> not many bed bugs in Germany

As a German, it took me until adulthood to figure out that when Americans talk of "bed bugs", it's not a metaphor.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by bombela on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:21PM (#21818325)

In California you get only one day a year of free pickup for bulky items. Its restricted to appliances, furniture, and mattress. Furthermore, you have to schedule in advance with the company handling your garbage pickup.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by inferiorhuman on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @03:27PM (#21818404)

Recology SF and San Mateo allots two bulky item pickups per (single family) household per year. Up in Novato/Sonoma it's 4x annually.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by YokoZar on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:40PM (#21819189)

This depends entirely on your city government and who they contract with.

I've seen on-call pickup of large items (2 or 3x per year), bulk trash day once per year for everything on the curb, free appointments at a central location, and "haul it to the dump yourself then pay a fee".

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by aryik on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @09:46PM (#21821301)

I’m pretty sure the San Jose green team offers unlimited free curbside pickup of bulky items. You do need to call to schedule it, but that’s fairly reasonable in my opinion.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by kcanini on Wednesday December 18, 2019 @01:05AM (#21822277)

I live in Los Angeles, and I can schedule as many free bulky item pickups as I want, at any time.

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Re:You might literally be buying trash on Amazon by amatecha on Tuesday December 17, 2019 @04:17PM (#21818939)

Interesting, that sounds like "encumbrance" which is a good word to describe the burden of owning too much "stuff"! :)

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