> > Your mentioning dumpster-diving implies the trash stream.  In
> > California, pretty much anything with a circuit board has to be
> > treated as "electronic hazardous waste".  It may not be (legally)
> > thrown away as trash.

AFAIK the same does not apply in NZ, but hazardous materials,
such as lead batteries, old pesticides etc should still be disposed
of properly (legally and morally)

Computers are still probably the most processed junk, although
perhaps more from a re-use rather than keep-it-out-of-the-landfill-
please POV

eg, this initiative at the weekend

http://www.bethedifference.gw.govt.nz/story18408.cfm

A few computer recyclers have been quite active over the years
rejuvenating them for schools and the needy

Recycling is not a great success in NZ, I think perhaps because
the population isn't there to support it. Also you hear the odd
story about 1000s of separated plastic milk containers ending up
at the tip anyway, so why bother ?

> We have twice-yearly special garbage pickups, when one is
> allowed to discard one large item like a TV or appliance. My
> old TV went out a couple days early and was gone in less than
> 10 hours.  Legal or not, I found that pleasing...

Me too. Carefully selected scrap (eg mdf offcuts that make my
workspace an obstacle course) will just disappear. I saw the
elderly Chinese couple from up the road painstakingly take the
last lot away in a pram so I now leave it outside their house and
in smaller pieces (random acts of kindness cheer everyone up)

My local council introduced a by-law last year making inorganic
day scavenging illegal. Mostly because some pigs who don't
care to rummage tidily or during sensible hours (breaking stuff
or upending well-stacked piles at 2am seems not to bother
their conscience). It was always understood that once rubbish
was out, it belonged to the council, now they say they'll enforce
that. Not that it'll stop me if there's something worth grabbing

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