The entire purpose of my last post in which I mentioned Tom Cruise for a second consecutive time was really to lead up to this post, in which I write about Bloomington’s annual City Curbside Cleanup.
This annual highly anticipated event (also known as “Junk Day” in our household) invites the entire city to get rid of anything no longer wanted. And when I say anything, I pretty much mean anything: Boxes, carpets, appliances, furniture, mattresses, box springs, construction materials, scrap metal, bundled brush — it all goes to the curb (as long as it isn’t toxic) to be hauled away by the city. This year saw a plethora of computer monitors, dehumidifiers, inkjet printers and children’s playsets.
The amount of junk that’s collected is phenomenal. Last year, in our neighborhood alone, the average amount of discards hauled per household was 254 pounds. The neighborhood to the east of us averaged a whopping 327 pounds per household. As far as we’re concerned, the more junk hauled, the better.
However, Junk Day isn’t all about discards. It’s great for collectors. Items are “allowed” to be placed on the curb 48 hours in advance of the Saturday the junk is hauled away — but junk goes out much earlier than that. And that means out come the scavengers. Roger and I call them “trollers,” because they troll along the street in their cars like fishermen trolling along the river in their boats. They’ll drive by the piles of crap with no shame. Many get out of their cars to rummage. Some, in fact, haul trailers.
Each year I view it as a bit of a challenge to see how much junk can be hauled from our curb by trollers before it’s “officially” hauled away by the city. This year, we put out a few rolls of old carpet, the TiVo that died on July 18, 2004 (”The Day the TiVo Died”), an old inkjet printer, some miscellaneous boxes, and an old plastic milk crate. The milk crate was somehow hit by a car, throwing shattered plastic into the street. The TiVo was gone less than 12 hours after it hit the curb. (What was on there? I think some old Sex and the City episodes and the movie Whale Rider, not to mention some potentially embarrassing other late-night recorded shows.) The rest was left behind. I always feel a bit hurt when I see a troller get out of his car, rummage through my throw-aways, and then toss something back. What? Isn’t my junk good enough for you?
Apparently, this year, the trollers have become a bit of a problem. On the city’s Web site is posted a warning: “To report … scavengers that are making a mess, call 911.” Yes, 911 seems a little extreme, but Junk Day is a serious matter in Bloomington.
The old cliche rings true: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” We can’t wait until Junk Day 2007.
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