I'm not in Fla. but I would call the city,out here electronics are supposed to be taken to a pickup place & not in trash as bad for landfills. Trash or waste management might be able to help you. Hope someone can give you more info!! Nice that you can use some of the "guts" for your wheelchair, you might offer them to others in wheelchairs or VA hospital or rehab center too! Stuff in trash cans is supposed to belong to city, curb stuff is free! Reality is most of recycleable stuff is taken from the blue containers before trash men show up! Oh, do be careful removing stuff from inside a TV it still can kill you from voltage even tho not plugged in, stores voltage for long time after unplugged like days or longer!! Knew a guy that was TV repairman & he got burnt inside his body.Had rough life after that.. So do be careful! Jan

Wow. Who knew about tv sets, both the burning part and the use for wheelchairs. What a great hint! I'll pass it on to a friend who has a dear gd who is paralyzed. Ironically, the girls mother was a garbage woman before she also tragically died a year after her daughter's accident.
I'm sorry you get yelled at halfpint. Some people are just too mean!
kathy

Once it's on the curb, it can be used by another person for another reason (even if it's to be used as evidence in a courtroom!). It becomes "public domain" on the curb. All yours hon!

curb shopping is legal and should be practiced with consideration. Do Not make a big mess by scattering everything allover and do not make enough noise to disturb neighbors. Do not open obivous tied up trash bags that may contain person info from the tosser.
Dumpster Diving on the other hand in NOT always a legal situation. Dumpsters are private property of the dumpster company and most often sit on private property. That way they not subject to the public land laws making trash piles curbside public domain and you will be chased off by police if they happento see you do any Dumpster diving.
Avid curb shopper and dumpster Diva.
CT (in FL)

I never new that tv parts could be so useful and dangerous.
Perhaps make up a card/flier to give/leave at the residence explaining the usefulness of the parts. Many people would gladly let you (maybe even help you) take their electronics if they knew what you were doing. They may even spread the word and more would be repurposed for this use. I used to be glad to see that someone else could use anything I trashed (as long as they didn't leave a mess for me to clean up.) Now we are to take it to a specific site to dispose of.

Posted by rob333: Once it's on the curb, it can be used by another person for another reason (even if it's to be used as evidence in a courtroom!). It becomes "public domain" on the curb. All yours hon!

Not true. It does not become "public domain". Maybe, you may live somewhere where this is true but most places have ordinances prohibiting this. The garbage carts and any other items are property of the homeowner and then become property of the city. Not only can you not steal from them, you cannot leave your own garbage in them either.

I guess one good way to find out? Go to craigslist, click on FL, then the city nearest you and then click on FREE STUFF..
You'll see how they list things curbside in their area.

There is a DIFFERENCE between advertising and giving something away to a person, and saying you will set it out to the curb for them to pick up, and the curbside 'dumpster divers' the roam the neighborhoods looking for treasures. The CL people have the owner's permission to take the stuff.

With Craigslist permission is being given for arranged or open pickup. Big difference.

One of the things CL has done is made givaways easy. Just advertise. Set a time for the item to be picked up with the person who is to receive it. Set it out to the curb. No need to meet them.

What a lot of people who curbside shop DO NOT REALIZE is that sometimes the items that they see are set out for a specific person to come and get them. A friend. A Craiglst respondent. A charity drive.

I've had this happen to me. I set out items ON MY PORCH and ON MY PERSONAL SIDEWALK going up to the porch - NOT the city sidewalk. A charity had an appointment to pick them up at a certain time. I caught a bunch of scruffy looking guys loading the stuff into their beat up pickup truck and I went and yelled at them. Remember, this stuff was IN MY YARD on MY sidewalk. The guy tells me that "The person who lives there gave them permission to take everything away." You should have seen the look on their faces when I informed them that they were talking to the person who lived there, and it was ME. While I yelled that they were stealing from the charity who had an appointment to pick the stuff up, they jumped in their truck and sped away. I think they were illegals and did not want any 'trouble'.

I hate it when I put out stuff for charities to pick up and find that someone stole it all, or picked out all the good stuff for themselves. It happens all the time. I've caught neighbors red handed doing this. Bags ripped open in the middle of the night with clothing strewn around. Pottery smashed on the sidewalk. Electronics now soaked with rain. And then when the huge truck from the charity arrives there is hardly enough stuff left to have made the trip all the way out. The good stuff is gone and th stuff left is broken, ruined, or was not that good to begin with.

You are right Dily dally it is terrible to take things off someones walk or porch. I assume here in this thread we were talking about stuff on the curb for garbage day pickup.
I am sorry you have such awful neighbors. I had a store brand bag and a little purse stolen out of my car parked in our driveway. When the thieves realized the contents had no value (a book to return to the library, and somoe tampzx, lol) they threw them in the snowbank at the end of our driveway. That sort of thing is so rare here that my dh was convinced that I had somehow tossed them absently mindely in the snowbank myself, even tho the little purse with the tampz had been in my glove compartment so long I'd forgotten about it. All it takes is one person. Its too bad.
kathy

I get rid of stuff -big stuff by placing a sign on it that says "Free" then I tell them what is wrong with it under the free part. I locked my freezer it was old & would need new motor & used electricity like crazy (bill is now 1/2 of what it was all because of 40 yr old appliance!) But in our area they won't take anything until dark but nice to come out & see it gone. Good stuff I get rid of at yard sale If you put out freezer or fridge be sure to tie wire or strong rope around it as they are magnet for kids to crawl into or take door off. The new washers & dryers that load from the side are magnet to kids too. There was a law againest them around late 60's or little later. Amazing how these laws just disappear for profit!!Ca had law againest convertible topped cars after they had few too many accidents but they are back around town now. Jan

Sunny its good to be clear for sure. When I helped my foster daughter move, we put some stuff by the road with a free sign. It rained that nite and I thought we would have a mess to clean up when we returned to clean the apartment. But it was all gone. I never thought about the side loading washers being a danger to kids! If I ever put mine on the curb I'll be sure to wire it shut! I don't ever have kids in my cellar where it is luckily. It does get the clothes noticably cleaner and uses less water, maybe that's partly why they are back.
kathy

I live in S. Fl. (Ft. Lauderdale) and people curb shop all the time. I always thought once it was at the curb it's trash. I would check with your city to be sure. Some people are just mean. They don't want it so no body should have it.