Santa Clara "Spring Cleaning Days"...junk in the streets, scavengers out in full force

[Amerigo Vespucci]

This weekend begins "Spring Cleaning Days" in Santa Clara...you can put pretty much anything you want, other than hazardous materials, at the curb in front of your house and the city hauls it away for free.

That means the streets are full of nails and all kinds of shit you don't want to drive through.

The neighbor across the street put a mountain of stuff out today. So far (and I have not been living in front of the window) I have seen nine trucks pull up and take stuff from the pile. Another half-dozen or so people stopped and didn't see anything they wanted.

"Spring Cleaning Days" are a mixed blessing. No dump fees, but strangers roaming your property. About a 1,000,000% chance of nails in your tires until the city picks the stuff up and sends the street sweepers to do their thing.

[babylonsister]

1. Big trucks, like Good Will? Sounds like a great opportunity for them, and

I know people are going to thrift stores.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

2. No Goodwill or Salvation Army trucks...individuals in pickup trucks.

The intent is good, the execution is questionable. People pick through your trash and leave it where they drop it. It's an unpleasant little exercise.

[depakid]

3. Aussies do "council clean-up" every six months

We put out a ton of stuff last time- and nearly all of it was picked up by people from the community. What was left, the council trucks came and got.

It's cool concept- though you're right about people rummaging through things by the curb. Drove the dog nuts.

[rwheeler31]

4. Sounds like a good thing, why are you worried?

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. All of the reasons I've outlined

Many, many boards with nails and piles of garbage tossed curbside. Narrow streets. Can't afford to patch tires. That's for starters.

[rwheeler31]

6. Get a group together to pound out the nails, or say no

dangerous materials at curbside, if it upsets you do something.

[Lost in CT]

7. Can you shoot the scavengers... they could be zombies... see no need

to take unnecessary chances... Better safe than sorry and all that.