Dumpster Dive Storage Score

[gdocktor3]

I work in the engineering department at a hospital that throws everything away, no matter what it is or what condition it's in. I couldn't tell you the things I've seen thrown away. Seriously. Anyways, I take a peak every so often and found these organizer bins piled up in there today. The pharmacy upgraded their setup and tossed everything they didn't need. So I picked out a nice assortment for myself. Just thought I'd share.

 

[Outlander]

I am pleased to be the first to inform you that You ****.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

Why isn't that kind of stuff set out in the employee break room for the taking? Why isn't that kind of stuff made available to St. Vincent de Paul? Or Goodwill? Or Habitat ReStore?

Its almost criminal for toss that stuff.

Was it headed to recycling?

 

[gdocktor3]

Why isn't that kind of stuff set out in the employee break room for the taking? Why isn't that kind of stuff made available to St. Vincent de Paul? Or Goodwill? Or Habitat ReStore?

Its almost criminal for toss that stuff.

Was it headed to recycling?

It's a shame, but everything is thrown away because of legal matters. The amount of food thrown away is disgusting. Don't even get me going, but it's not right. I'm all about recycling and repurposing, decreasing waste and this stuff just burns my ***. It's in a large city with low income housing and homeless who could really benefit from the stuff they throw away. Even I have to get a "permission slip" signed so I don't get fired for "stealing."

Not to mention there's a habitat for humanity about 5 minutes away.

 

[Ponchoguy]

Why isn't that kind of stuff set out in the employee break room for the taking? Why isn't that kind of stuff made available to St. Vincent de Paul? Or Goodwill? Or Habitat ReStore?

Its almost criminal for toss that stuff.

Was it headed to recycling?

Some companies would rather throw them out than give them away (not that it's right). Plus if one guy knows about it, and the other does not, then favoritism takes over, etc, etc.

Sad but true...

 

[jkherd]

Yep......You ****!

 

[gdocktor3]

This is another dumpster we have, but all scrap metal. Everything was perfectly fine before it was stuffed in. Filing cabinets, chairs, desks, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc.

 

[CNGsaves]

Serious SUCKAGE on those free storage bins !!

How large of cabinet will you be building ??

Another GJer snagged bunch of metal ones and built his with 3/4" plywood.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323176&highlight=tornado+plywood

 

[CSRPenFab]

You ****... By the way, those bins previously held all the leaking infectious samples!

 

[littleponderosa]

nice work doc.

Bill

 

[rburke65]

I love dumpster diving. I just scored a relatively new 120v 6 gal. water heater, and an aluminium drain pan for underneath, an expansion tank, 2 stainless steel grab bars, and small sump pump. This was from a store front that they were remodeling for a new tenant and EVERTHING there was going. Nice looking commercial carpeting, beautiful condition, just rolled up and into the dumpster. What a shame.

 

[Jhoff310]

ya know a true friend would have grabbed some more and shared the wealth with his buddies on here....I guess its safe to say we know where we stand in your eyes.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Yep, nice score. I enjoy dumpster diving.

 

[JamieK]

This is another dumpster we have, but all scrap metal. Everything was perfectly fine before it was stuffed in. Filing cabinets, chairs, desks, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, etc.

One of those Overbed Tables would make a great work cart!

 

[Hephaestus29]

I've seen people making swimming pools out of dumpsters, most aren't quite deep enough to dive into though.

 

[gdocktor3]

I took this home today. It was a water hose reel, but I turned it into an air hose reel. My supervisor had to sign a form giving me permission to remove from property.

The knob broke off or something so they tossed it. I emailed the company and they mailed me a new one free. thanks!

 

[gdocktor3]

Serious SUCKAGE on those free storage bins !!

How large of cabinet will you be building ??

Another GJer snagged bunch of metal ones and built his with 3/4" plywood.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=323176&highlight=tornado+plywood

You ****... By the way, those bins previously held all the leaking infectious samples!

No lol they were used to store new medications.

I'm not planning on building anything at the moment, but these were originally used on a large, chain driven rotating shelf system. Picture a large revolver or drum with shelves that spins, but the shelves rotate so they always stay level. That would be my ideal "cabinet"

 

[G_P]

Why isn't that kind of stuff set out in the employee break room for the taking? Why isn't that kind of stuff made available to St. Vincent de Paul? Or Goodwill? Or Habitat ReStore?

Its almost criminal for toss that stuff.

Was it headed to recycling?

Cheaper to just toss it in a dumpster than to have to store it until it can be picked up or delivered to a charity. Also legal matters play a huge role. Companies dont want to be sued because someone got hurt using something they donated.

 

[cpttuna]

At work once , the maintenance people must have had to move something heavy. In the dumpster was 2 pieces of 3" stainless channel 3 ft long tack welded in an X pattern with 4 6" wheel casters tack weld on the corners. I got it for $2.00 on a scrap ticket. The wheels were barely scuffed.

 

[James-W]

Large companies have budgets for different things and every year they spend the money in their budget whether they need new stuff or not. Then they throw the old stuff away, even though it is still perfectly good. I used to get a lot of computers from the local hospital, minus the hard drives which they take out and smash. They just gave them to me to get rid of them. Nobody at the hospital wanted them so I would take them and save stuff out of them. I made a few bucks selling things like memory modules and power supplies, an occasional video card, a few DVD ROM's, once in awhile a motherboard.

 

[southalabama]

I would have filled the car up and called the wife to bring hers.

I hate waste. But I understand the logic of why they do it.

 

[nadogail]

Do you suppose that this wanton discarding of resources might possibly be a contributor to the continually rising cost of healthcare?

 

[Kpaige]

Little story for you .
When Polaris decided to move out of their building in Plymouth they took all their parts stock no matter what it was that was over I think 10 yrs old you know all the rapid items.
They destroyed everything cut tracks and tires in half Etc every item was made useless then put into dumpsters. This was for several reasons, first it was cheaper then relocating it all, second it made more demand in sales for the new stuff as parts for old were harder to find, legal reasons, keeping inventory costs money. I had a good friend that worked there he tried to talk them into letting him sell the stuff off and there was no way they would let that happen.
At my warehouse we just did year scrap and it was three semi loads. Difference here is we get to take anything we want, we recycle anything we can then the rest goes in the dumpster.

 

[Ghost11]

Nice find

 

[gdocktor3]

Do you suppose that this wanton discarding of resources might possibly be a contributor to the continually rising cost of healthcare?

 

[Farrier]

I took this home today. It was a water hose reel, but I turned it into an air hose reel. My supervisor had to sign a form giving me permission to remove from property.

This is ridiculous. Precisely why I've been self employed for most of my working life.

 

[southalabama]

My brother in law works industrial construction. He has to get a ticket signed by the supervisor to haul anything off the worksite. If he doesn't he subject to criminal prosecution. Guards have to check for approval. Makes sense.

 

[Norcal]

My brother in law works industrial construction. He has to get a ticket signed by the supervisor to haul anything off the worksite. If he doesn't he subject to criminal prosecution. Guards have to check for approval. Makes sense.

Unfortunately, I have agree it does offer some control what leaves the premises, & may prevent some theft. (If someone is determined to steal not much going stop them though.)

 

[C lectric]

Same thing here. Steel angle framed, 2" Maple topped, 3' x 6' workbenches put out to die.
Could we have them . NO, because not everyone could get them - favouritism.
We said toss a label in a hat and let those who are interested pick a number. NO
Could we buy them. NO


So several of us took them. Not a great thing to do but it just ground us to see them destroyed.

The same high thinkers also tossed some expensive equipment because they didn't know what it was and we didn't use the stuff every day therefore it couldn't be of any use. WRONG

Yeah legalities can be absolutely stupid.

 

[gdocktor3]

Well this all started 5-6 years ago when a plumbing apprentice starting backing his truck up and loading it down with scrap copper. Then was later busted on premises with drugs. One bad apple....

As long as we get the slip we're good to go though. We do have an older bobcat skid steer we don't use anymore I'm trying to get my hands on....

 

[NewShockerGuy]

I took this home today. It was a water hose reel, but I turned it into an air hose reel. My supervisor had to sign a form giving me permission to remove from property.

The knob broke off or something so they tossed it. I emailed the company and they mailed me a new one free. thanks!

That's an Ely hose reel... very awesome quality. I have two. Expensive though..

Excellent score!

-Nigel

 

[gdocktor3]

That's an Ely hose reel... very awesome quality. I have two. Expensive though..

Excellent score!

-Nigel

Yea it is really good quality and expensive that's for sure. I am planning on using it for my air hose. I emailed them and asked if they made air hose reels or the internal swivel fittings for it, but they no longer make pneumatic reels. He said they were rated for 250 psi I think or something like that so it should work. I tested it quickly at work, but I don't know how many psi was going into it. Either way I'll make good use of it. I will say this - they have excellent customer support, answered all my questions in detail and very quick, and also sent me the handle for free.

 

[AnthonyJ124]

Nice scores!!

I purchased a pair of card catalogs from Boston public library last year via municibid.com. When I picked up the second one, it wasn't in the basement storage where it should have been- so I got a nice tour of the storage areas throughout the building... You wouldn't believe the amount of gorgeous old furniture that's going to waste in that building. But the gentleman in charge of selling surplus explained how convoluted it is for them to sell off items- it basically has to be voted on as surplus, legally posted, listed, then there are all sorts of sideways accounting that has to be done in order to sell. Basically it's a nightmare to sell even a $1000 item and it's easier to destroy and waste it. I understand how arduous the process could be, but gawddamn its heartbreaking.

My card catalog ended up somehow being in the cafe, so we had to wheel it up and down a few floors and through a few reading areas. The amount of employees asking where it was going and how it was sold to me was actually kind of funny. One of the older librarians was actually distraught over it, wishing she could have one too. I almost felt bad until I got it home and my wife saw it.

 

[sometoyotaguy]

No lol they were used to store new medications.

I'm not planning on building anything at the moment, but these were originally used on a large, chain driven rotating shelf system. Picture a large revolver or drum with shelves that spins, but the shelves rotate so they always stay level. That would be my ideal "cabinet"

We used to have a REMSTAR that was similar. It was always breaking though.

 

[gdocktor3]

We used to have a REMSTAR that was similar. It was always breaking though.

That's job security. We have a giant water fountain outside. Every year, against our advice, they leave it on until winter. Every year the back flow freezes up and cracks. Every year they buy a new one and every March, on the first nice day, they want it turned on again.

Those same geniuses are the ones having all this stuff thrown away.

On another note, I heard on the radio yesterday Starbucks will start donating all their uneaten meals. They will donate 5, 50, or 500 million meals in the next 5 years or something I can't remember exactly, but hearing that made me happy.

 

[gdocktor3]

Uh oh, new work bench maybe? That blue table is solid.

 

[sberry]

I have seen some salvage from hospitals, its great. Back in the day had a city bud with a bud that was a disorderly. He was a vet and didn't go out of the way to dispel the notion he was just a number and should be left alone. He didn't cause his boss any problems but primarily wandered the halls, he was on the phone constant with about half a dozen buds, they never stole stuff that was needed but anything on the way to the dumpster was "diverted" Prbably saved them a lot of money with scrap from constant renovation.
One guy was a fireman. One of the best I have seen from "salvage" He saved stuff, its what he did but wasn't scared to sell it or toss scrap in a dumpster at work either. He hada corner there to tinker in and did one thing at a time and often sold a washer he had snagged the same day for 100$, replace a filter in an air con, if it didn't work outit went, if it did it went to a flea they migh go to over the weekend.
The guy had a vacation home here built from mostly salvage but on occasion him and the wife would toss the van full of scrap from their garage, was a flea, he spend the morning or 3 hrs there selling anything anyone wanted, would give me anything, says we got 400$ and you know where a dump is for the rest of this or give it away at the end.

 

[langss]

Most "Big" Companies are just that way.....Its got to be made useless to avoid Legal Liability. As an example the Company I used to work for scrapped tons of Hardware because they could not find the Certification for it. We are talking Millions of dollars here. Some of the larger fasteners were upwards of $100 each. I don't know if it could be written off, but even the size of stuff you might use around the house or on your car.....Scrap.

 

[colt zantop]

This thread and pics makes my head hurt. I want this stuff!!! Lol

 

[gdocktor3]

The most aggravating thing is seeing new material and parts being throw away. There is always a lot of renovation being done and sometimes extras are ordered. Instead of using it on the next job, it's sometimes just thrown away. Brand new duct work with the tape still on it. Length of pipe. Electrical conduit and cable. Plumbing supplies and even fixtures. The worst was seeing a spare $20,000 pump thrown away because the system was phased out and updated. Someone, somewhere was probably looking for that pump and would have paid dearly for it. All we ever hear is budget this and budget that, yet thousands are being tossed out with the trash that could have been saved or put in the pockets of the employees who have to fix the **** after the contractors leave.