dumpster dive a bar?

Was wondering if anyone has dove a bar's dumpster in search of bottles? i was walking by a pub this evening and seen a bunch of Sierra Nevada pail ale bottles sitting in the dumpster and some boxes. so i pulled up and grabbed a box and put them in then i seen some red stripe. of course the one alum bud bottle to even me out to 24 since i tossed one.

i brought them home put them in the sink soaked them pulled the labels off and have them sitting in some oxy clean for a nice soak then into some starsan. i wouldnt have grabbed them except there were right on top. i know the bar as 3 buck alum bud night so i might have to stop and grab some of them as well.

Recycling at its best. In my state we have a bottle deposit, so they're never in dumpsters. I buy them from friendly liquor stores for 10 cents apiece. Just wash them up good and you're in business (it sounds like you've heard about the wonders of OxiClean for bottle cleaning).

As info, the aluminum bottles may require a bench capper (or so I've heard).

BrianP said:

Recycling at its best. In my state we have a bottle deposit, so they're never in dumpsters. I buy them from friendly liquor stores for 10 cents apiece. Just wash them up good and you're in business (it sounds like you've heard about the wonders of OxiClean for bottle cleaning).

As info, the aluminum bottles may require a bench capper (or so I've heard).

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yea i will be getting a bench capper. and yes if it wasnt for here i would never have thought about using oxyclean. sounds like i need to start diving more often, and really get in there. might be able to supplement this habit i have developed called brewing.

Hey, if its in the trash it is in the public domain. Reporters love it. ID thieves love it, homeless need it and it does help us home brewers. I'm just need to find some bars that serve a lot of champagne, if I'm bottling I want to minimize my pain level.

A dumpster is not public domain. It really would be best to ask the bar owners first. We had a woman where I work get arrested for dumpster diving.

OhioBrit said:

A dumpster is not public domain. It really would be best to ask the bar owners first. We had a woman where I work get arrested for dumpster diving.

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You called the cops!?

We have homeless in my apartment building's dumpster all the time.

Dumpster Diving (DD) is illegal in someplaces. The ettiquette of DD suggests that at the least don't make a mess. I usually clean up the area a bit after DD.

Nitrile or latex disposable gloves and one of those easy-reach extension doodads are your friends. I keep both (and a heavy rubbermaid bin) in the trunk of my car for undisclosed reasons...

Go in the bar have a beer and ask. More than likely they save some for you so you won't need to do any dumpster diving!

Kauai_Kahuna said:

Hey, if its in the trash it is in the public domain.

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OhioBrit said:

A dumpster is not public domain. It really would be best to ask the bar owners first. We had a woman where I work get arrested for dumpster diving.

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fratermus said:

Dumpster Diving (DD) is illegal in someplaces. The ettiquette of DD suggests that at the least don't make a mess. I usually clean up the area a bit after DD.

Nitrile or latex disposable gloves and one of those easy-reach extension doodads are your friends. I keep both (and a heavy rubbermaid bin) in the trunk of my car for undisclosed reasons...

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Also, if the dumpster is locked or in an otherwise enclosed area (gate etc.) it is not legal. Also NEVER dive in a dumpster with a compactor unit.

go head over to some of your local brewery if you have some and see if you can talk to their production manager. Ask him if they have any extra bottles or shortfills and you might be surprised at the results.

Also, if the dumpster is locked or in an otherwise enclosed area (gate etc.) it is not legal.

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It's almost always to dumpster dive when there's a dumpster involved. Dumpsters are almost always private property and almost always LOCATED on private property.

Trash cans on the curb however, are on city property unless you're in one of the rare areas in which property extends to the middle of the street and the city owns no land.

Of course, I personally object to the idea of "public" land so I ignore the government people's claims and ask the homeowner anyway. 99.99% of the time it's trash and if you don't make a mess, they don't care. Pretty much the same with businesses though they might ask you to come by after hours. There's the added benefit there that if you let someone know you're interested in the bottles, they might put them in bins for you rather than the trash the next time.

I usually go through the local recycling bin... The guy who works there always looks at me kinda strange.

fratermus said:

Dumpster Diving (DD) is illegal in someplaces. The ettiquette of DD suggests that at the least don't make a mess. I usually clean up the area a bit after DD.

Nitrile or latex disposable gloves and one of those easy-reach extension doodads are your friends. I keep both (and a heavy rubbermaid bin) in the trunk of my car for undisclosed reasons...

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haha well i always have trashbags the heavy duty kind 3 mil and gloves in the sidekick and the truck. ill have to get one of those extenda reach things. and i can understand dumpster diving can be illegal. but i am sure nothing would come of it. be different if i was at a medical facility looking through paperwork. but ill see what the law actually states. oh one more thing. id never trash a place period. i wouldnt see the need in it. nothing would leave the dumpster except for what i was planning on leaving with.

abracadabra said:

Go in the bar have a beer and ask. More than likely they save some for you so you won't need to do any dumpster diving!

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doubtful considering the fact it takes time to set aside the bottles. i know when i have helped clean up it was remove the bag from the container toss in the garbage. and this pub is pretty bsy so doubt they would have time to think about it. and yes i have actually asked a couple places. 1 a friend is the bartender. she said i could stop by anytime i like but no way to separate as it takes time. and the other a friend owns and said the same thing. though i do have a source for wine bottles anytime i want them.

fratermus said:

Nitrile or latex disposable gloves and one of those easy-reach extension doodads are your friends. I keep both (and a heavy rubbermaid bin) in the trunk of my car for undisclosed reasons...

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Uh... do you also keep duct tape and a hunting knife back there?

the reach extender is a great idea... no more attaching the kids to a cherry picker and lowering them in the dumpster!

bearkluttz said:

the reach extender is a great idea... no more attaching the kids to a cherry picker and lowering them in the dumpster!

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Now I know why my kids keep coming home so dirty! How about use your own freakin' kids next time, huh?!?!

I've got my parents and in-laws saving bottles for me, but I've also gone to the recycling drop-off here in town to scavenge in the past. The township that I live in does curb-side pickup of recycleables handled by an private contractor, but an adjacent township has a local drop facility. Last time I checked, I've got about 8 cases in my basement.

good info guys, hadnt though about the recycle drops. will have to check them out. my hope is to score as many alum bottles as i can. i mean i dont mind buying the bottles and drinking it. just to be honest its getting harder to do.

just go ask the bartender where you drink. They'll probably sell you the bottles for $2 a case, and you get a nice box to carry them as well.

I'm trying to buddy up to a bartender where they do champagne brunches. They gotta go through a case of bottles a week...

B

Kevin Dean said:

It's almost always to dumpster dive when there's a dumpster involved. Dumpsters are almost always private property and almost always LOCATED on private property.

Trash cans on the curb however, are on city property unless you're in one of the rare areas in which property extends to the middle of the street and the city owns no land.

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Actually I meant locked as in padlocked. Also, many dumpsters, especially at locations that are shopping centers, are located in common areas, alleys etc. Additionally, I don't think it is all that rare for property to extend to the middle of the street. It's just that the city exercises a right-of-way for the street and typically a few feet on either side of the rest of your property lines as an easement for utilities. As far as the dumpster itself being private property, it is usually owned by the trash company, at least around here.

I bet if you asked they would just save them for you. I went to one of the wine shops and they were glad to save bottles from their tastings.

Saves them the hassle of dumping them.

At ten cents a throw here in Michigan, Seinfeld even had an episode about our deposit.

DutchK9 said:

I bet if you asked they would just save them for you. I went to one of the wine shops and they were glad to save bottles from their tastings.

Saves them the hassle of dumping them.

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depends on how bsy the bar is. i couldnt imagine trying to do a friend a favor and separate the domestic twistys and non twistys. no big hit another bar and scored another dozen. wouldnt mind getting a bunch of red stripe bottles. right now im even going to go after the corona bottles for the cider. wine bottles arnt a big deal as a buddy of mine has a nice little restaurant. i now have a rubbermade bin in the sidekick. and a bunch of 6 pack boxes so if i see some bottles on top ill grab em. i always walk by these two bins so it will be easy to see if they are on top.

Warning: pre-coffee post.

the_bird said:

Uh... do you also keep duct tape and a hunting knife back there?

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There is duct tape in my car and I always carry a pocket knife, so I guess the answer is "yes". It has more to do with my Eagle Scout "be prepared" youth than any nefarious purposes.

The bin allows one to collect bottles or other dirty objects at will without getting the car all nasty.
This is what a binfull of DD bottles after a run looks like for me: ~40 .5L german bottles, delabeled, cleaned, sanitized and ready for use. They are my favorites because:

* they are heavy (intended for extended reuse in the original market)
* the labels are so easy to remove they fall/brush off after a waterbath <-- not joking
* they are .5l so they require less of them at bottling time
* they are regularly shaped and so store/arrange easily

I have filled my beer racks I brought back from the former FRG with me. I have found that Ichiban (IIRC) cases fit the .5L bottles pretty well, but they are too tall for normal cardboard cases.

I asked the barkeep at the local McMenamins if they had any bottles, and he said I was free to scrounge in the recycle bin, so I do every week. Last Tuesday I scored 23 bombers, I also met the brewer there! Cool guy.

Yep, here in MICH I get all the 10 cent bottles I want. We have a great beer store about 15 minutes from my house. As far as the dumpster thing, even publicly-accessed areas, such as at the mall or shopping centers, is still considered private property. I'd ask the owner if you can grab some bottles there.

If the trash bin is located next to street (right-of-way), and it clearly intended to be trash, then it's legal for you to pick it up and keep it. I've gotten a couple of Ale-Pails that way (and lots of other stuff).

most the time with dumpster diving they dont care if you taking only if you dump. But some people get pissed. I would just ask.

well i went and hit the bars again today. total haul was another 12 red stripe 12 pacifico 6 negra modelo a couple assorted bombers. some chima bottles and another 12 snpa bottles. i cant find any alum bottles darn it. for anyone else considering this get a extenda reach grabber thing from home depot. they are 20 bucks and the nice thing is they aree great for gripping around the bottles.

also i have to say i was reading ed's post about removing the paint from red stripe bottles and holy crap it worked. right now i have 24 bottles soaking in a stronger then normal starsan soak. think ill let them soak for a week and pull them. 3 days was good but still had some residual ink. maybe ill just pull them in three days wipe them then soak again for a final clean up.

In my are anything in a dumpster be it a shopping center or your curb side trash containers once inside it becomes the property of the trash pick up company. I've seen cops stop street people from collecting aluminum cans from neighborhood trash cans late at night eaely mornings still dark outside. Recycle companies must be making a killing besides billing us to have our trash picked up and they cash in on the recycled glass, metal and alunimum. We have green, blue and gray household trash only cans. This in the S.F. bay area. One person I see all the time hits all the bars and picks up all their bottles, the back of his PU is full of plastic 55 gallon drums seperating glass by color. He must have something going on with the bars.
More and more neighbors are placing good items at the curb with signs "free works". My wife hate me I have to stop and lookie everytime.

camiller said:

Additionally, I don't think it is all that rare for property to extend to the middle of the street.

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It's an exception rather than a rule. MOST places your property ends about three feet from the street and the "curb" is city property.

camiller said:

It's just that the city exercises a right-of-way for the street and typically a few feet on either side of the rest of your property lines as an easement for utilities.

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You can argue that all you want, and it might even be technically true. However, if the city says "You must put this telephone pole in your yard" and they win, there's no PRACTICAL point in having ownership. The law books might say something other than that, but if you don't control what is on it, you don't own the property in my eyes.

camiller said:

As far as the dumpster itself being private property, it is usually owned by the trash company, at least around here.

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As I said, it's private property. You'd not unload crates off the back of a Pepsi truck because Pepsi is a private company and that's their property. The same is true of private trash agencies. In many some cases those private trash companies sort through the trash they collect and gather recyclables or scrap to turn extra profit. Just because it's "trash" doesn't mean it's free to take.

Which is why I suggest always asking the business owner first, that's all. Most of the time, it IS just trash and they don't care.

I'm accumulating quite a collection of 16oz. Grolsch bottles thanks to a friendly bartender who enjoys my homebrews given in appreciation.

fireloo said:

I'm accumulating quite a collection of 16oz. Grolsch bottles thanks to a friendly bartender who enjoys my homebrews given in appreciation.

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I've actually got a guy in town that sells them back to the liquor store for a 6 pack every now and then. The owner of that then sells boxes of them to me for cheap! If uniformity matters to you, be on the lookout. Grolsh has begun putting 15.4 oz bottles in circulation!

went and hit the bars again this morning and just finished up cleaning the bottles of the labels

so i think i have enough corona and especial modelo for a 5 gallon batch of ed's headache maker.

total of 225 bottles as well as 3 champane and 3 wine bottles. the bar owner of one stopped and asked why i was only grabbing redstripe bottles and i told him for brewing and he said he would have his bartenders save them for me. so sat morning he said they would have a couple boxes outside waiting for me. and i found that one of the bars has a high amount of snpa drinkers so i think i should have a good mix.

Kevin Dean said:

It's an exception rather than a rule. MOST places your property ends about three feet from the street and the "curb" is city proper

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In my town the city easement goes back 12' from face of curb into your property.
Between the sidewalk and curb be it 2' or 6' of dirt or grass is city property and you can not cement it in. Bricks spaced with dirt or sand is ok but fighting the damn the weeds is another weekly problem. Round Up for the brick spacings.

OhioBrit said:

A dumpster is not public domain. It really would be best to ask the bar owners first. We had a woman where I work get arrested for dumpster diving.

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AFAIK, it's not legal in Ga.

In my town the city easement goes back 12' from face of curb into your property.

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That sucks. I reject the idea of "easement" and prefer to be honest and admit "You don't actually own this land, but we'll claim you do, and use that claim to somehow rationalize taking your money in the form of property taxes". Whatever helps the bureaucrats sleep at night...

Of course, the entire issue of "can you own property in America" is a good one, but not on topic here. I really should start writing that book...

I hit up a recycling center yesterday and got me 58 btls and 1 bomber that was only 1 of 12 here in nashville. if i had a longer grabber i could have got more. i stopped by another which is in a school's parking lot and on a busy road where the cops are mean and lookin inside and could have got another 50-100 but there was football practice going on and there was a sign on the dumpster that said it was illegal to remove anything from them. if it wasn't where it was i would have loaded up. but its time to hit up another 2 here in a few days.

Csuho said:

I hit up a recycling center yesterday and got me 58 btls and 1 bomber that was only 1 of 12 here in nashville. if i had a longer grabber i could have got more. i stopped by another which is in a school's parking lot and on a busy road where the cops are mean and lookin inside and could have got another 50-100 but there was football practice going on and there was a sign on the dumpster that said it was illegal to remove anything from them. if it wasn't where it was i would have loaded up. but its time to hit up another 2 here in a few days.

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A recycling centre? That is someone's property and those bottles are a core to their business. You are a thief. No more, no less.

OhioBrit said:

A recycling centre? That is someone's property and those bottles are a core to their business. You are a thief. No more, no less.

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Agreed. That is most uncool.

As for the school; if there is a sign telling you it's not allowed and you're not comfortable doing it with people looking on, it's wrong and you know it's wrong.