Dive summary:
- With more and more people out of work or having a hard time making enough money, the number of people going through trash to collect valuable materials is rising.
- One scavenging professional said he made up to $7,000 a year by going through trash, now that number is going down though because of the increase in competition.
- Most of the time scavengers are looking for scrap metal or appliances they can fix and resell, while taking things from others trash is illegal, it doesn’t seem to stop many people.
From the article:
Brad Stone said he reeled in nearly $7,000 one year by picking up heavy trash in his 1985 Chevrolet Silverado.
Sitting in that gray pickup with his wife and baby daughter on Thursday night, the nine-year veteran said proceeds from his “second job” haven’t been as pretty lately.
“Recent times, with the economy going down,” the 28-year-old said. “Everybody gets in their truck and does the same thing.” ...
