Now you see it, now you don’t.
They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We’ve learned that this is amazingly true on St. John. For example: That vacuum cleaner on the left? I took that picture on the way up the hill at about 10 am one morning. The next picture of the same dumpster on the way back down the hill no more than one hour later. Broken or not, there are darn good working parts in that vacuum.
Rusty frig? Might be a good motor on it. Plastic patio chairs? Score. Old terra cotta planters? You’re kidding, right?
We learned this about a year ago when we were going to throw away a coffee table with a chipped corner. The advise we got when we asked where to dispose of something that big? “Just set it in front of the dumpster. Somebody will take it.” (And that first experiment proved the advise was sound. Gone before the end of the day.) So, when you see stuff sitting in front of the dumpster, it’s not because somebody was too lazy to hoist it over the top. It’s just getting a second chance at life. And a good chance it is.
December 8th, 2007 06:05
Had my own personal experience with this phenomenon….Wife went down to the dumpster (changing things out in the house) She had put some semi decent cushions next to the dumpster (for easy pickins) and one box that she could not lift……I went down about 15 MINUTES later….cushions GONE….Wow!…I picked up the box she could not lift and disposed of it….I think there are dumpster knomes involved!!!
December 8th, 2007 08:01
The dumpster near E & C Gas Station is a popular spot to display your good junk and watch it disappear … FAST. I hung a bag of clothes there and was happy to see Luna wearing one of the outfits the next day.
December 8th, 2007 08:06
We played that game when we were there also. We would notice what was by the dumpster on our way in to town and see if it was gone on the way back to the villa. Amazing! I thought candid camera was involved.
December 8th, 2007 09:12
Same stuff happens on Long Beach Island NJ. There’s a saying there that nothing ever leaves the island it just finds another home! Maybe it’s an island thing!!
December 8th, 2007 10:47
Heck - we used to do that in downtown Chicago. My boyfriend and I bought a new couch and put the old one in the alley out back. We had a bet to see if it would be gone by the end of the day or not. I lost the bet - it was gone in two hours.
December 8th, 2007 20:41
One man’s junk is another man’s treasure. I once found an orange wicker elephant table at the dumpster, we had that sucker for years, loved it!
December 9th, 2007 08:30
When we first moved to STJ we were told the same thing.
We were informed to leave anything we didn’t want next to the dumpster when we were “cleaning house”………so hubby loads the truck, and when he returned home he told me people stopped when they saw what he was unloading and transfered it from his car to theirs - he didn’t even have time to put it on the ground
The strangest thing I think I have seen vanish, was a well used toilet - yep, gone in less than a day.
Pia
December 11th, 2007 16:28
Ok. I confess. We usually try to blend in St John when we visit, and I would never do this at home… You know where this is going.
We dropped our villa trash at the dumpster and my 12 yr old son spied a boogie board, with a small crack in it. I looked around, threw it in the jeep, and took off for the beach. The chickens were my only witnesses.
December 19th, 2007 17:27
On our last day on St. John, I was determined to garbage pick a “souvenier” from this baby. I had a t-shirt in mind, and low and behold… I found one immediatly. I still have it and wear it… it’s a blue shirt with “Cruz Bay Eagles” on the front with an eagle picture, and a “Pathfinder club” with logo on the back. Does Anyone who what this is?