Going through people's trash
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (52149)
Staten Island, New York
April 3, 2023 4:47pm CST
I feel bad for these people that walk around the streets and look through people's trash and recycling (and public trash cans as well) for plastic bottles and cans they can give to the store for a 5 cent refund per bottle/can (or whatever the amount is these days).
They carry huge bags filled with bottles and cans. Some use a shopping cart but some haul it themselves on their backs. It's certainly not an easy task and very time consuming Usually it's Chinese that do that though I've seen others do it as well.
I wonder how much they get from doing all this. At five cents a bottle/can you need to collect twenty just to get a $1. And $1 doesn't give you much these days. Not in NYC anyway.
I see this on my block where I live. Can't say I like them going through our trash or those of our neighbors. Sure they don't do any harm to anyone but it's kinda creepy seeing someone go through people's trash or recycling.
11 people like this
12 responses
@LindaOHio (222417)
• United States
20 Apr 23
Unfortunately there are people that are in dire need of dollars to get something to eat.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
22 Apr 23
Yes. For some, every penny counts. Sometimes I wonder why we don't collect our own cans and bottles and bring them to the store.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
24 Apr 23
@LindaOHio You take them to the store?
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222417)
• United States
23 Apr 23
@lovebuglena We collect aluminum cans. We have bags all over everywhere.
@kaylachan (84810)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Apr 23
I would agree, too. That's just nasty, but people do need to eat.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (84810)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Apr 23
@lovebuglena If there is, a lot of people obviously are unaware of it. Or, can't be bothered to try.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
There has to be a better and easier way to make a few bucks to get some food.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
4 Apr 23
They go through the dumpsters here in the complex but not for that reason..and they lay on filthy mattresses on the ground that are in the dumpster area and shoot up.
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
5 Apr 23
@lovebuglena Yeah its gross Lena not to mentiion dangerous..
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Apr 23
@RebeccasFarm I was standing on a corner recently waiting for hubby to pick me up. Some dude walked past me with a huge box that had a TV in it. He had trouble carrying it. Someone told him he needs help and the guy started saying nasty stuff to that person and almost knocked into me trying to haul that TV by himself. I think it even fell from his grasp.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Apr 23
Oh no! Not something I wanna see. Plus, I wouldn't want them near me.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174495)
• United States
4 Apr 23
As long as they aren't making a mess, people can go through our trash if they feel like it.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (174495)
• United States
5 Apr 23
@lovebuglena Oh, I see... As long as they aren't bothering anything, I don't worry about it.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Apr 23
I wouldn't want anyone lurking around by my house.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (98033)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
4 Apr 23
For them it is a ways to get some money and a way to buy some food and drink,
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
True but you need to accumulate tons of bottles and cans on a regular basis to really be able to afford stuff.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Apr 23
If you think about it, for the amount of time and effort it takes to earn a dollar, they could have just gotten a job that paid them 10-15 times more per hour than collecting cans.
@moffittjc (128837)
• Gainesville, Florida
6 Apr 23
@lovebuglena But the difference between myLot and collecting cans is that on myLot we’re here for fun and interaction, and it’s not a way to earn “income” to support our basic needs.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
It’s similar to mylot in a way. Here, many hours needed probably to get a buck, if you even get it in the end. But I guess they can get there faster if someone throws out a lot of bottles and cans.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
6 Apr 23
@moffittjc I bet for some on here $5 goes a long way.
1 person likes this
@choijungeun (2710)
• Hangzhou, China
3 Apr 23
It's also a way to make a living,i wish they can have a better future.
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
Can’t really live off of that. Unless maybe you go around every neighborhood collecting stuff.
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
It’s sad that they have to do that.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (382104)
• Rockingham, Australia
4 Apr 23
I guess they must think it is worthwhile or they wouldn't do it.
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
Maybe they also have no choice but that’s sad to think.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
No one around here asks. They just open bags and take.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
Sometimes I think to myself, why don’t we return these things to the store instead of just putting them out for sanitation to take?
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Apr 23
There are people that don’t really recycle and can throw those things in the garbage. I guess that’s why they look through the trash as well.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52149)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Apr 23
Perhaps these people don't work and that's why they do it.
