Curb mining
Curb mining is the act of salvaging appliances, electronics, furniture and art discarded on the street. In cities around the world, people often dispose of furniture and other unwanted items by leaving them on the sidewalk for others to take.
Description
Curb mining is the act of salvaging appliances, electronics, furniture and art discarded on the street. In cities around the world, people often dispose of furniture and other unwanted items by leaving them on the sidewalk for others to take.Terminology
Terms similar to curb mining include "dumpster diving" and "freeganism". In June 2007, The New York Times wrote:Re-use and recycling
In many jurisdictions, ownership of domestic waste changes once it is placed into a container for collection. It is thus illegal to skip dive. Curb mining gets round this because the items offered are not yet placed into the "waste" stream, thus their ownership has not yet been transferred. It is often legal to curb mine, but illegal to skip dive.Some countries—notably Germany, Japan, and much of Western mainland Europe—have a long tradition that items placed outside are intended specifically for re-use by others. There may be a designated day of the week or month, distinct from normal refuse collections, to encourage this.