One of the worst was a bag that had a whole bunch of electrical wire staples in it. Spent a lot of time with an industrial magnet trying to get them all picked up.

:-(

Lloyd

Rocks and more rocks.

Plastic.

Used diapers and other similar sanitary products.

In my garden opening bags and spreading leaves. I saw a large wet clump of leaves. After sticking it with my pitchfork and shaking it real hard trying to separate the leaves I realized it was a cat.

jim_6b

Shredded beer cans! I dumped some bags in my garden, that I picked up curbside years ago. I didn't pay attention and plowed them under. I'm still finding pieces every once in a while, been cut several times.

poison ivy. itch itch

Last year one the bags I poached had 25-30 dog pop bags in it, could have been worse . . . almost grabbed a bag across the street that had chopped up shipping peanuts and shredded leaves in it.

Not really sure if people always understand that the bags go to a composting area (hopefully) and not the dump.

This thread makes me worry about picking up OPYW. Is there anything we can do to avoid these undesirables? Are there telltale signs that warn us to stay away from certain bags?

This year I'm pondering whether I should pick up at the start, middle, or end of leaf season. Early bags tend to be lawn clippings mixed with leaves, which is OK. Middle bags tend to include yard cleanup stuff--potted plants, prunings, etc. Late pickups are mostly pure leaves. And the order of leaves matters too--first it's the birches, then the maples, then the oaks.

What about how heavy a bag is or what it feels like inside--I'm leery of heavy bags now because they can either be perfectly shredded leaves, or something not pleasant. Light bags tend to be whole leaves.

"Is there anything we can do to avoid these undesirables?"

Personally knowing the people that bagged the material helps.

"Are there telltale signs that warn us to stay away from certain bags"

Sometimes one can tell but I've had bags that the person has placed the unwanted trash in the middle so it looks normal on the outside.

I love the mixed leaf/grass clipping bags, nicely chopped and perfect for the tumblers!

Lloyd

Laughing out loud with you, although at the time I'm sure you were doing something else other that laughing!!! Reading these stories is the reason I'd be afraid to take someone's yard waste, unless it was someone I set it up in advance with and trusted that only "good" waste was included.
I'm lucky to have all the leaves I need, and would definitely share with any gardener who came a knocking.

I really wonder why people hide trash inside of leaf bags. Perhaps they are picking it up in their yards or in the street, and they are too lazy to walk over to their own trash can, but they aren't supposed to put trash in the yard waste bags, so they hide it in the middle. At least that's the case here, we have clear yard waste bags, no yard waste allowed in the landfill, no trash in the yard waste.

But diapers, that's a mystery. Would you change your kid in the front yard in between raking leaves??

Ugh, I'm still shocked at the dead cat (visions of Monty Python dancing in my head).
But anyway, the worst I've found was charcoal (and commercial briquettes, not good hardwood charcoal), chock full of heavy metals. I wrote a short story once about finding a human hand in a bag of winter leaves...

I got a bag last year that had cigarette butts and ashes in it. Yuck! Did that stink! Took me back to when I used to clean offices.

This one has to take the prize. "Woman's body found shot in area used as yard waste refuge : Dayton area crime"

I don't collect other people's yard waste for these very reasons. I am always baffled by the crap people mix in with it, notably at our city compost pile. There is a HUGE sign that reads "COMPOST ONLY, NO GARBAGE OR BRUSH". Everytime I go there, I see brush, of course, plastic bags, and also, people just throw their annual patio plants in there, pot and all. At this same location is a contraption for dumping waste motor oil, with a big sign that says "OIL ONLY, NO FILTERS OR CONTAINERS". Yep, you guessed it, there is always a few oil filters laying there, along with some empty jugs. The worst is FULL jugs; these morons just set the full jug there, making someone else have to do the work of dumping it out.

Anyways, now that I'm done ranting, I must say that I am a bit taken away by the dead cat thing, and toxic, I am with you on the trash thing, especially diapers. I can understand that some trash my be buried in the leaves, and end up being raked into a bag, but diapers!? Someone would have to intentionally mix them in there, knowing that what they are doing is wrong.

The solution?

1. Approach front yard that contains bags of yard waste.
2. Open bag.
3. Dump contents of bag onto lawn for inspection.
4. If it looks good, scoop back into bag, load up, and leave.
5. If it contains diapers, cats, rocks, trash, or other undesirables, drop what you're doing and proceed to next yard.

Obviously I am joking, but the thought of it made me laugh!

Joe

eleventy billion thousand slug eggs.

If friends and neighbors know of your composting/gardening passion you will get all the leaves you can ever use and obviously they would not intentionally put inappropriate things in there. They think they're doing their part for the environment, and additionally helping you out, by giving you their leaves. It's great up to a point. Now every Tom, Dick and Harry want to help. Stop already.

OK, this isn't yard waste, but I do get a daily bucket of scraps and coffee grounds from a local cafe. There is usually at least one screw-top lid from a milk or soy milk container in there, plus the little plastic ring seal or the occasional order slip (just a piece of paper). Not a terribly big deal.

But yesterday I pulled out a nasty, stanky, soggy, encrusted dish rag that was soaked with some sort of disinfectant (Lysol? bleach?) It stank of rot, mildew, and some sort of chemical. I thought about it a long time and decided the best thing to do was to launder it and return it.

barbie heads, and swisher sweets plastic tips.
and from municipal compost, a tractor seat.

Oh Tracy, I would have thrown that nasty dish rag into either the compost or the trash, depending on whether it appeared to be cotton or not. Ick.

I came upon two deer legs today, a bloody joint or two and a plastic bag that I just knew was going to contain a few more legs, and probably a head. I passed.

I think you can boil those up for stock.

Whew...for a second there Annpat, I thought you were gonna say a bag of dried up old bread....

What I wouldn't give to be on your street....I would even sacrifice some leaves, just to pull a prank on ya. I would mix in some bread in the bag with the leaves, put it out that evening, then wait in the bushes with the video camera...HAHAHA

I see that holidays bring out the worst in you, berryman.

This spring I got a bag with potted plant balls that had been soaked in what smelled like kerosene. I didn't have a truck at the time, and my poor kids had to ride around in minivan that smelled like a fuel depot until I could clean it out.

They already have the weirdo mom who curb shops for biomass - I almost got fired for that one!

Geez sunkirst, I wonder why someone would do that. Only thing I can imagine is they found a clever way to get rid of some old spoiled diesel or kerosene, since you can't put it in the trash. At least where anyone can see it.

This is how garbage truck fires start.

@berryman: for best effect, the bread should be very soggy.

Gardenerzone4: I love your thread - I was laughing when I read Jim_6b's description of a dead cat. My worst yard waste bag from the neighbor was full with dandelion fuzz and seeds. I won't get any leaves from the neighbors unless I check THEIR LAWN beforehand to make sure it's 100% clean of dandelions.

Starbucks' corporate policy is to give 5 lb. bag of coffee grounds to customer when asked. However, my local shop doesn't give out coffee grounds for the winter. It's easier just to go behind the store, and you'll see an OVERFLOWING garbage bin with the heaviest bags containing coffee ground. Coffee ground is a buffer, and neutralizes with time - but the espresso ground doesn't neutralize and stays acidic (which gave my Rhododrendrons pink-striped!).

I am not sure why a more finely ground coffee bean would retain its acidity any more than the coarse ones. It's been shown that most of the acid in coffee is quite soluble and ends up in the cup. Only a fraction is left behind in the grounds. Perhaps the finely ground espresso does release its residual acid faster due to the greater surface area. Maybe that's why your Rhodies were a happy pink.

Acids in coffee are all organic rather than mineral acids, and will break down themselves after a short time. So coffee won't change your pH permanently unless you keep adding it.

I appreciate your info. very much, toxcrusadr. Thank you for helping me understanding it better. You are right about espresso ground is a fine powder, vs. coarse coffee ground. When my hubby makes espresso, it's a quick shot through the powder, versus a slow-brew with coffee ground. Espresso is reported to be bad for your heart, compared to harmless coffee.

When I tested espresso powder versus coffee ground in purple cabbage juice indicator: they both turned pink (acidic). But after 1 hour the coffee ground solution turned clear, and after 4 hours it's completely clear like water (it's a buffer). However, I left the espresso ground overnight in purple cabbage indicator, and the solution above the solids remained pink.

Hmm! Also possible that the very dark roasting of the espresso actually creates or releases more acid from the beans than coffee roasted less aggresively.

Did you do that test with spent grounds or fresh ones?

Since I get up earlier than my wife, we have a lot of Hebrew coffee at my house. When my wife makes it, we call it Shebrew.

I used to pick up plastic sacks of lawn trimmings from an old man that mowed lawns in his neighborhood. If I got them right away, they didn't stink. One time he treated most of the lawns with a broad leaf weed killer and shortly thereafter, mowed the lawns. Unknowingly, I used the cut grass clippings for mulch around a nursery bed of Azaleas. Killed them all. That ended me picking up his clippings.

I live on ten acres and use wood chips as a mulch. A friend of mine has a tree service and he parks his truck and chipper here. At the end of the day he brings me a load of chips. A lot of my time is spent spreading woodchips. I top dress my groundcovers and beds with chips. Even my paths are chips. I have no precise borders to maintain that way. My whole place is treated as a compost pile. Works for me.
Mike

I thought I was really smart having a truckload (about 1.25 tons) of hay and pine needles delivered after the local Christmas tree lot closed. I still think I was smart, because I will no longer have to scrounge cardboard to make bedding for my worm bins. However, it was a bit of a surprise when, while bagging this stuff over a 2-day period, I found:

5 gallons of plastic twine and assorted colors of plastic tape, in lengths up to 1 yard
A wad of used duct tape
1 mechanical pencil
2 bottles of water (one empty, one unopened)
100+ wooden disks trimmed from the bottom of the trees
numerous branches
50+ pieces of metal: screws, nails, bolts, u-shaped machine bolts, plastic-wrapped wire
A bazillion zip ties
various candy wrappers and disposable drink lids
One half-eaten candy cane still in the plastic
Many rocks in various sizes
1 crowbar (I will call the company tomorrow to see whether or not they want it back)
1 business license for sale of Christmas Trees and Halloween Pumpkins from 2008 (Will also be mentioned during the call)

I am careful(LUCKY)& always go back to the same homes that have only yard waste.
annpat I am sorry.
Where I come from we were taught to clean & eat what we killed. If we could not eat it, we buried it!

The worst things for me have been weed seeds and other reproductive parts, namely bindweed and nut sedge and portulaca. We rely mostly on chipped tree and brush from tree pruning companies. We don't have much in the way of seasonal leaf fall here in coastal central California.

At my home up from the coast, zone 8, I did score some decent bags of fall leaves from my home composting operation.