It’s actually so sad. Last time I was at the recycling center a couple of years ago there was a Nintendo 64 in the electronics waste. I bet that it probably still worked. And even if it didn’t it would have been fixable. But I wasn’t allowed to pick it up.

Instead this console just has to get destroyed. And for what? It’s not even like a Nintendo 64 is going to have any personal data on it that poses any danger to the previous owner.

And on the flip side if the argument is that the electronics could be dangerous because they are broken. I probably run the same risk when buying electronics second hand anyway. So I don’t think that should prevent them from letting people pick up things either.

> Beware that both approaches might be considering stealing in some jurisditions.

Yeah, most definitely, which is why you need to befriend them before asking, otherwise it's a guaranteed "No, we cannot do that".