Neglect

[Coffeecup]

A friend of mine had her cello destroyed in a road accident a few weeks ago yet somebody can throw one away. There's no justice.

[jim_n_virginia]

what germs??? LOL! It was sitting on top! I would have snagged it in a heart beat.

I picked up an no name trashed old guitar with a smashed in top and sold it on eBay and it sold for $395.00 seems like someone wanted the parts.

[Ben Milne]

two four six eight...
I'd grab that before its too late...

[Ivan Kelsall]

Mike - In England there's a similar thing going on with trash from a council dump,called 'stealing by finding'. It's an absurd ruling IMHO, because if if something's on a dump,obviously nobody wants it so why not be able to take it if it's useful ?. Now,removing items from a rubbish skip is ok as long as you ask the 'owner' of the item (our skips are usually placed outside the homes using them so you can id.who's it is). Nevertheless,i'd have had that Cello out of there in quick time,just for the wood,
Ivan

[billkilpatrick]

i destroyed a baritone uke once - delighted to do it ... very gratifying ... i'd do it again - horrible; laminate top, gooped-up with nitrocellulose lacquer - gak - brand-spanking-new, with the acoustic quality of a shoe box. i've also left a relatively expensive but poorly-made venezuelan cuatro leaning against a skip, only to have a friend of mine tell me later (with glee) "look what i found!"

[journeybear]

... if something's on a dump,obviously nobody wants it so why not be able to take it if it's useful ?

Here it is customary to leave unwanted items on the curb, and if others deem them useful they are free to take them. I have acquired many wonderful items of furniture this way, and also gotten rid of clutter via this method. Sometimes I wish, though, that the corner right outside my window weren't the local agreed-upon spot for this activity, as sometimes stuff can sit there awhile ... Haven't found any instruments, yet, though my neighbor did once dump a cheap electric Wurlitzer-type organ there, where it sat for weeks. The time she left an upright piano was better - that was fun to fool around on.

[Bertram Henze]

Just to adress any hints I might have missed out on an opportunity, let's browse the options we heard:

- restore the instrument: nobody in our house plays violin family instruments nor intends to learn to
- decorative wall hanger: our house is so full of old instruments that I wouldn't know where to put it, especially since its size is rather on the big side. Plus, all those have a personal meaning each, all coming from the family - an anonymous cello from the dump can't live up to that.
- conversion into furniture (CD rack etc.): we are quite picky concerning what goes with what - changing one detail generally leads to reorganizing half the house, and just now there isn't any need such an item would fulfill.
- wood for burning/kindling: my wood stack is completely full for this year, since two of my neighbors lost their garden shacks to a storm this spring and gladly gave me all the debris free of charge.

[journeybear]

Well, if you insist on analyzing this sensibly, you're just going to take all the fun out of our chit chat!

[Zigeuner]

Obviously, once the unwanted instrument reaches the dump, it's too late. The time to find one is in a trash receptacle BEFORE the waste is picked up. Then, it's fair game.

Once waste is deposited at the landfill, the county takes over ownership of it. They remove metal, plastics and other recyclables. They don't allow anyone to come in and take items.

[journeybear]

I once shared a place with, among others, a guy who for a while was working as a garbageman. Oh, the things he would bring home sometimes! Nothing quite as big or nice as a cello, but ... amazing what gets thrown away, sometimes.

[JEStanek]

I think many of the dump regulations are for their protection. If it were legal to scavenge... er recycle, reclaim, whatever, from the dump the municipality could be held liable for any injury or illness that could be attributed back to that activity. I've reclaimed some useful items curbside but not from the dump.

Jamie

[Randi Gormley]

My husband found a 3/4 fiddle (in case with bow) in someone's garbage and brought it home. It still needs the sound peg (?) put back up, but it seems to be in good shape otherwise. One of our band mates found a fiddle in the garbage and it's now his primary instrument. I think it needed about $100 worth of repairs, but still. Amazing what people will toss.

[jim simpson]

I'm surprised you don't see more banjos tossed in the garbage pile!

[woodwizard]

I bought an early 40's A50 once from a fella that found it in a trash can. Case and all tossed in there. It was a nice one with a beautiful quilted maple back, little diamond & Gibson mop on head stock all original. What were they thinking when they through it away!?!!

[journeybear]

I'm surprised you don't see more banjos tossed in the garbage pile!

1) You might, but you never hear about them getting pulled out.
2) They're often thrown in at the bottom to make sure they don't get fished out.
3) The people throwing them out don't want to be seen with them, so they do it in the dead of night.
4) Your turn!

What were they thinking when they threw it away!?!!

Probably something like, I finally got my F, so to hell with this!

[woodwizard]

Quote: "I'm surprised you don't see more banjo's tossed in the trash"

You mean like this?

[Ivan Kelsall]

Quote - " I'm surprised you don't see more banjos tossed in the garbage pile!" Word fail me !!. Where's the moderators when you need 'em ???,
Ivan

[jim simpson]

Ivan,
It's customary to poke fun at our banjo playing brethren (and sisters). I love my banjo playing bandmates and wouldn't want to be without them.
Jim

[JEStanek]

I was happy to see the recyclables segregated.

Jamie

[journeybear]

Jim, and everyone ...

Ivan plays both mandolin and banjo, straddling that fine line, and so was being quite tongue in cheek there. At least no one has started with any banjo/dumpster jokes yet - and please don't, there are whole threads devoted to such drollery - but a picture, that one anyway, is worth a thousand words ... which probably works out to a couple score of jokes.

Jamie ...

Yes - at least those recycled aluminum cans will be put to some worthwhile use!

Aaarrrggghhh!!! Must ... stop ... banjo jokes ...

[jaycat]

It's not the banjos; they can't help it. It's the operators . . .

[roscoestring]

Best of both worlds: