My neighbor has left a lot of things on the street overnight. they look like they were cleared out from an attic. could someone please tell me if these things are likely being thrown out or recycled?

there are a couple of old picture frames, some lawn chairs, an old TV, etc.

i'm into making art sculptures of old stuff, so i was going to look through it to see if there's anything that i could use.

but i don't want to take anything if it's not appropriate. in the US, i would assume that they're trying to give it away.

thanks for your opinions!

Yeah should be ok.

That's pretty much the custom in many places. People hope somebody can use what they don't want. Around Zuriberg and a few places you will find some pretty expensive and practically new TVs, stereos, etc. set out on the street. You will also see vans cruising around who pick the stuff up and sell it or ship it off for sale in "other countries". I have set stuff out a few times and been quite amazed how fast it disappeared

The Swiss are a little too security conscious to just leave something on the street unattended, so if it's clearly set out and left on the street, it is meant for one and all, help yourself.

One man's rubbish is another man's treasure!!

I remember having a friend who had a skip outside their block, it had bikes, furniture and some amazing things in it. Everyone could help themselves!!

Left a lot of bulky, inculding electronic, waste, on the street during the night? Report him to police ehmm I mean, take what you want but don't make him your role model.

Technically it's illegal, but everybody does it.

the dumping or the pilfering - or both?

What I have seen, I don't think would be qualified as either dumping or pilfering. People put the stuff on the street right in front of where they live, the deal being that recycling reuses the materials, which also consumes energy, whereas some person might use the TV or whatever for another few years. If the stuff is still on the street after a day or too, the owner then carts it off to recycling. You can't really call it pilfering either because it's free. It's a kind of recycling that has been going on long before recycling centers.

Of course none of this is to be confused with the scheduled pick ups of Grobgut, metal, etc. That stuff is also up for grabs because any claims of ownership are relinquished when it is put out on the curb.

Don't pick stuff up unless you are sure you want it. That piece of furniture may look fine in the dark but lousy in daylight.

Technically stuff left on the street belongs to the city sanitation department. They redistribute the stuff to charity, etc. As others have pointed out everybody takes stuff though, and I've never heard of anybody being prosecuted. Whenever we put something usable out on "large objects day" it's gone long before the official collection truck comes around and all that's left for them is large rubbish.

My boss put his old defective television set out next to the sidewalk and it was gone within hours. Two days later it was returned..!

So beggars can be choosers, eh?

...just make sure when moving house to have someone stand 'guard' when waiting for the van to arrive; my flatmate left his expensive kitchen table outside his door, went in to lock up and - you guessed it - when he returned it'd already been taken.

Which reminds me, last night I dreamt I was eating a giant marshmallow and when I woke up, my pillow was gone...

LMFAO!!!!!!!

Why dont you knock on the door and just ask?????????

Yeah, nobody would ever drive around the corner before illegally dumping his old stuff And they always come back to recycle it properly, don't you believe it!


The city doesn't have the ressources to redistribute the waste, it all ends in the incinerator. If you want to save ressources, call the Brockenhaus and give them your old stuff.

There isn't a "large objects day" in Zurich anymore, I doubt there are many left in the country. The waste collectors come on demand here.


Wow, your boss is a real boob. He had the option to dispose of the TV set in any electronics shop for free, yet he left it defective on the sidewalk.


I feel the urge to post more -smileys... Let's not assume the existence of waste leprachauns just because waste disposal usually works in Switzerland, please?

Lausanne and environs still have "big object pick up day". But as Nathu writes, they don't redistribute any of it. It all goes to the incinerator.

I'm not sure this is correct. In Lausanne at least, anything left for pick up technically belongs to the city & it's not legal to pick it up.

Since around here we have "large object pick up", I had never heard of leaving stuff out & then only recycling what is left over.... Is that even legal?

This was a few years ago when it still cost 50-100chf. to dispose of your old TV, things have changed for the better since then.

Wow thanks for that, as I am retarded I could have got myself into a whole heap of trouble by constantly filling my house with shite.