Question Regarding Dumped Items

[wildbill23c]

Where I live there are numerous locations that people love to just dump their junk. Is there anything out there law wise preventing someone that stumbles across the junk from picking it up and using it?

 

[adsm08]

At the very least you could claim maritime salvage rights.

 

[wildbill23c]

At the very least you could claim maritime salvage rights.

Its on public land, and the reason I'm trying to find out is would I get in trouble for picking it up? I could get myself a couple of pretty descent tires for my B2 by picking through the junk.

 

[PanamaExpat]

Stop and get them... It is public domain once it is in the trash. Now being the guy doing the dumping.... That's another story.

 

[Captain Ledd]

My only concern would be if the The Law wanders by and thinks YOUR doing the dumping, having you truck filled up with objects commonly dumped and all. I'd just notify the local authorities and go grab it.

Maybe, if your feeling really ambitious, organize a clean-up with fellow wheelers. Get some real good press and make the place look better.

 

[Mark_88]

My only concern would be if the The Law wanders by and thinks YOUR doing the dumping, having you truck filled up with objects commonly dumped and all. I'd just notify the local authorities and go grab it.

Maybe, if your feeling really ambitious, organize a clean-up with fellow wheelers. Get some real good press and make the place look better.

Excellent idea...community service paid forward!

I actually got "caught" taking a dishwasher out of what I thought was government land...it was 70 feet down a ravine that was covered with snow...struggled with it all the way up and when I was putting it in the truck two other trucks pull up...guys about my age, farmers...and the one guy said "Ha, caught you dumping on my land"...

I laughed.

He didn't...

He was going to call the police...I said "go ahead...make my day...".

They drove off happily ever after...and I got a whopping $10 for all that effort at the scrapyard...but it was a good workout...


Anyway, I'd definitely tell the local authorities what you were going to do just in case...

As for what you can do to prevent such things happening...not much...I see many little mini junk yards all over the place here...people like to dump their stuff because it would otherwise cost them money to dump at the Municipal land fill sites...and they do it late at night or in secluded areas with good visuals both ways so they can see when someone is coming...at night headlights are their friends...

 

[wildbill23c]

Well after talking to the local PD, they said "If you aren't the one doing the dumping and are attempting to make the grounds look better there's nothing against the law about it". He went out with me and looked it over and said to take whatever I wanted, once its dumped its really nothing they can do unless they can actually catch the person, or people that are dumping it.

So I ended up with: 2 215/75-R15's in almost new condition, one had a nail in it, but otherwise no damage, also found a 13" wheel that would work on a friends car, and a VW transmission that's seen far better days.

Other than being dirty they look to be in pretty descent shape, now if I could just get a hold of 2 more similar tread and size tires I'd have some good summer tires for the B2.

The whole community clean up thing would be a great idea but where I live everyone does their own thing helping others or helping the community seems to be a waste of their time. I like to go out to known places where people target shoot and pick up all the brass cases they leave behind as brass is $1.40 a pound to recycle.

I also brought home a couple 5 gallon buckets full of looks to be like someone filled up with a mix of motor oil and transmission fluid. Figured the local bus garage would love to have that for their waste oil heater.

Well that area is quite a bit cleaner should have snapped some pictures but didn't have my camera, cell phone camera is a POS.

 

[ghost1986]

Its on public land, and the reason I'm trying to find out is would I get in trouble for picking it up? I could get myself a couple of pretty descent tires for my B2 by picking through the junk.

Get in trouble? Heck the county should be thanking you for helping to clean up junk.

 

[wildbill23c]

Get in trouble? Heck the county should be thanking you for helping to clean up junk.

I actually got one of those WTF looks when I asked if it was ok to go pick through the pile of junk and take stuff that I could use.

I picked up a VW transaxle to toss in my recycling pile as well, the 2 tires and 1 wheel will be used on vehicles. Need to find another pile someone has left with a couple more tires that match the size of the first 2 I found so I could get a good set of tires for the B2 LOL.

 

[Captain Ledd]

man says he got $1000 ticket for cleaning up detroit lot

This was on the news a while back, I never did catch what the outcome was. Oh Detroit... There is a reason it's failing.

 

[wildbill23c]

man says he got $1000 ticket for cleaning up detroit lot

This was on the news a while back, I never did catch what the outcome was. Oh Detroit... There is a reason it's failing.

I highly doubt I'd have a problem where I live cleaning up someone else's mess. Where I go and find these messes, is well known to the community to be trashy and I go in there and try and clean up what I can, I can't clean up everything because certain items if I take to the dump I would get charged for, and I can't afford that in the first place. But I'll pick up the scrap metal, and stuff like that, and in this last case a couple good tires and a good wheel.

Its stories like this that make you wonder what the point of trying to clean up your town is. Only in places like Detroit, Washington DC, California, and New York would someone get in trouble for cleaning up.

If I were that guy I would sue the city for the cost of cleaning up their own mess, plus the cost of the ticket. And the unwanted publicity caused by the city's foolishness.

 

[straycat]

Well after talking to the local PD, they said "If you aren't the one doing the dumping and are attempting to make the grounds look better there's nothing against the law about it". He went out with me and looked it over and said to take whatever I wanted, once its dumped its really nothing they can do unless they can actually catch the person, or people that are dumping it.

So I ended up with: 2 215/75-R15's in almost new condition, one had a nail in it, but otherwise no damage, also found a 13" wheel that would work on a friends car, and a VW transmission that's seen far better days.

Other than being dirty they look to be in pretty descent shape, now if I could just get a hold of 2 more similar tread and size tires I'd have some good summer tires for the B2.

The whole community clean up thing would be a great idea but where I live everyone does their own thing helping others or helping the community seems to be a waste of their time. I like to go out to known places where people target shoot and pick up all the brass cases they leave behind as brass is $1.40 a pound to recycle.

I also brought home a couple 5 gallon buckets full of looks to be like someone filled up with a mix of motor oil and transmission fluid. Figured the local bus garage would love to have that for their waste oil heater.

Well that area is quite a bit cleaner should have snapped some pictures but didn't have my camera, cell phone camera is a POS.

Free tires are cool if they are in great condition!! But......look at the back of the tires and see the vin # and the date on the tires and see when they were made. That is were the bad news comes in. If they are over 5 years old they would be good as spares only.

 

[wildbill23c]

Free tires are cool if they are in great condition!! But......look at the back of the tires and see the vin # and the date on the tires and see when they were made. That is were the bad news comes in. If they are over 5 years old they would be good as spares only.

Considering what's on my Bronco 2 now, I could care less if they are 5 or 10 years old, the ones on it now are splitting really bad in the tread area, and I think are beyond their life as far as tread depth. I'm trying to baby it along until I can afford to get tires, but its been in the shop for almost 2 months for problem after problem, so I'm spending all the money that I could be saving in gas having to drive my full size truck all over the place. By the looks of the tires I got they aren't that old. I have had some tires on my 84 ford ranger for 7 years and never had a problem.

Yeah I understand the whole well they might be bad, blah..blah..blah stuff but so are the tires on my bronco 2 that should have been replaced probably several years ago by the way they look. At this point anything is better than what I have now.

After some searching around I found the tires are only about a year old. One of the 2 tires I found has a nail in it, but can be repaired. Now I need to get a hold of 2 more with similar tread pattern. The 2 I have now show very little wear, and new tires of the same brand, size, and style or model number are $96 each.

The Tire size of the 2 I found are 215/75-R15's. It currently has 235/75-R15's on it and the speedometer is off, but not as far off as I thought it would be. However, I think I will stick with the smaller size tires, as I don't forsee any rock-climbing excursions LOL.

 

[a31ford]

One way of "Covering one's ass", is to date and time stamp a video of yourself, telling the camera that you will be picking these items up FROM the location (and videoing the fact of where they are sitting BEFORE going over and taking them off the pile..)

This way, (like in the case of the farmer above), you can prove that you are taking, NOT throwing.


Even most camera phones do some form of video nowadays.

Greg

 

[wildbill23c]

Good idea, I'll do that on my next excursion. Never thought of doing that. My camera does a time and date stamp, just have to figure out where the setting is to do it.

My camera will take very short videos so I may do that if I can get the date/time stamp thing figured out.