One re-usable piece a day

Before I picked up garbage, I scavenged.  I learned it from my parents, who taught me that the dumpster behind Ralphs at Wilshire and Bundy contained perfectly usable food – lettuce that might have a few bad leaves, bread that was not quite fresh but not yet stale or moldy.  By the time I was 12 I was wandering the alleys of Brentwood and finding treasures in trash cans.  To this day I cut wood with an axe whose head I found discarded in an alley.

Ok, in hindsight, finding a discarded axe in an alley in Los Angeles might have been less a reason to exult and more a reason to call the police, but I was young and it was a cool find.

While I’ve left my dumpster-diving days behind me, I am not blind to good finds. A few weeks ago I spied a perfectly good neoprene knee brace at the park ‘n ride I frequent.  I left it or a day to make sure nobody was coming back for it.  A bird had pooped on it, but after a trip through the washer it was good as new.  I have a trick knee and I periodically have need for a brace.

Today was a two-find day.  On my walk to work, after collecting a bagful of random detritus, I found a brand new bandanna.  It was lying in the street.  I peered at it carefully to make sure it didn’t contain anything objectionable, but it seemed to only carry stains from having been run over a few times.

Then, at the park ‘n ride on my way home, a re-usable plastic Starbucks coffee cup was discarded in the bushes.  My keen sense of observation tells me that somebody was drinking liquor out of it.  Both have received a very thorough series of washings in very hot soapy water, and are ready to go into rotation.

I draw the line at underwear, socks, shoes…  you might be surprised how often those crop up.  I have to admit I often have a difficult time bringing myself to pick those up to discard them.  Hand washing – it’s not just for dinnertime.

Who can resist free stuff?  Pick up a piece a day and it will happen!