What I Learnt Rescuing Treasure Off the Streets
People throw a lot of good stuff out.
We’re in an age where most people have too much and continue to accumulate more. A lot of perfectly usable things, are thrown into landfills not because they are broken or worn out. Most of them have lots of life left, or even have yet to be used.
Their owners just have no use for them.
My neighbourhood has a Bulk Waste Pickup Day by our local council, where everyone can spring clean their houses for the new year and leave bulky waste like furniture and sports equipment, i.e. things that would usually not fit into a bin, out by their front door.
The council will send a truck through the streets on the designated day in a designated time frame to pick it up for free.
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Every year, I walk through the streets in the morning in the hours leading up to the trucks coming, just as people are leaving their stuff out.
My goal is to get as many things to new owners, and reduce the possibility of them ending up in a landfill. I usually only have a couple of hours at best to identify someone who’s interested in an item, and get them to pick it up ASAP before the council trucks scoop it up. Check out groups like Buy Nothing Project to share! There are many other groups that are location specific, so dig a little more to find the right one for you.
So the key ingredient is: Communication and Coordination.
That’s all it takes. Anyone with a phone can do it.
- I determine if an item is worth saving
- I take pictures and post them for offer (for free) on Facebook Groups
- I coordinate the pickup with their new owner
It’s a rewarding activity that helps keep things out of landfill and helped someone avoid a purchase of a new thing.
For the new owner of the item, it’s like receiving a gift.
For the old owner, they feel good knowing a once-treasured item is not going to waste.
For you, it’s a good deed that costs nothing but minimal effort and time.
It’s good energy for everyone. If this is something you’d like to try, here are my ways to increase success of rehoming:
- Identify what is really worth saving
Think about what you would be happy to get from a garage sale. A wobbly old office chair with one wheel missing is probably not it.
Focus on value rather than volume of items you can share about, so it is likelier to reach the right people.
Speak to the owner if you can (if you’re willing to ring a doorbell) to ask about the condition. Not all defects are visible. If you’re not speaking to the owner, try your best to determine the condition of the item and describe it clearly when you share so that you also don’t waste a receiver’s time with a broken item.
It’s also polite to ask for their consent to rehome it if you find someone who would like to have it, but not necessary, since they’ve already parted ways with it by leaving it out to trash.
- Use freecycling community groups, or any existing network you may have
I like offering and listing the items using local Buy Nothing Project Facebook groups, community Whatsapp group chats. You may have more versions of this, like Preloved Facebook groups – listing the item for free.
- Timing is everything
Focus on smaller, more portable items that can fit into a standard car, if you only have the space of a few hours (or even minutes) to get it off the streets.
A whole sofa set in excellent condition is exciting, but organising a hired truck for the receiver will take hours or a day’s notice you may not have.
Some charities have their own trucks and may be interested and available to pick up item on short notice. Just give them a heads up before the scouting day if you can.
If you have the time, space and intention to carry things home yourself to be saved for the future receiver – this buys you more time. I personally prefer not to do this and only coordinate ready takers without involving myself in transportation and storage.
- Communicate and Coordinate like a Champion
Describe things clearly and be transparent about defects.
Emphasise any urgency around timing so that you don’t have someone who isn’t available to pick up immediately taking away the opportunity from someone else.
Set expectations on what this is, where you found it, the risks involved if they don’t arrive in time (e.g. council truck may have picked up the item if they don’t arrive in time).
Privacy-wise, I like using Facebook groups where you can chat freely on Messenger but still keep your profile locked and not exchange any personal details or phone numbers.
Keep Moving!
Just take pictures, note addresses and move on to cover more ground. You don’t have to wait around by the items for responses.
Here are some other places / days where treasure may arise from being trashed:
- Tenants moving in and out (especially student accommodations or expat-centric residences) – often gets left in the garbage room
- Events – potentially single-use decorations and props, overstock of door gifts, or fresh flowers that have a few more days to be enjoyed
- Sidewalks or roadsides – either random sightings of people giving up and just illegal dumping, or people leaving it out in plain sight hoping for someone else to pick it up for reuse
The world has more than enough we can reuse.People in communities, like you, that fill in the gaps and connect each other with resources can make a world of difference in bringing down carbon emissions, land use and waste.
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