Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012, May 29, 2003, Page 4, Image 4

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Fare is roundtrip from Eugene. Subject to change and availability. Tax not
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Rummaging
continued from page 1
“I get a (social security) check
every month,” he said. “This is just
something to do.”
By walking or biking to bins, trash
cans and Dumpsters all over town,
Tommy said he gets pretty good ex
ercise and even puts an extra effort
into cleaning up the trash other rum
magers have spread all over the area.
Califomia-bom rummager Hallis,
37, said careless divers can hurt
Dumpster accessibility for others.
“When people put trespassing
signs on Dumpsters, that’s pretty
sad,” he said.
Hallis, who only gave his nick
name, has rummaged throughout
Eugene for more than 12 years. He
said the sloppy rummagers and
divers give the game a bad name.
“People think we’re just bums,” he
said, shaking his stringy head of hair.
“Getting cans from all over town is
actually a workout.”
Hallis said the suffering economy
has inspired more Eugeneans to
rummage and dive, which has
caused him to venture out less.
“Today, if I were to try really hard,
I might make $3 or $6,” he said, “but
back in the ‘90s, I got an average of
$60 a day.”
When he isn’t using his recycling
money to buy rolling papers, tobacco
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and 59-cent hamburgers, Hallis said he
enjoys getting an occasional beer but
has left the harder stuff behind him.
“When I had a dope habit, I was
rummaging a lot more, and I would
lie and tell people it was for beer,”
he said. “Nowadays it’s a lot
rougher because other people are
in Dumpsters around the clock —
even at three in the morning.”
Towering 29-year-old Monster, as
he is nicknamed, said he has been
rummaging consistently in Eugene
for about a year. Monster said he
rummages all over the city for mon
ey to buy food, cigarettes, beer and
marijuana when he can.
“The secondary effect, of course,
is lightening the load for trash carri
ers,” he said.
Between ramblings, Monster said
he recently felt offended by the
snobbish looks and remarks of those
who judge him by his appearance.
Wearing a short, white bathrobe,
dirty basketball socks and shorts,
and a faded T-shirt and a hat, he said
he isn’t out to impress anybody but
doesn’t appreciate disrespect.
“I am a kid,” he said. “But I won’t
take people talking to me with a
stuck-up attitude.”
Not all can collectors encountered
by students appear to have problems
making ends meet.
A couple of months ago, Universi
ty junior Maggie Thompson stepped
out on her apartment porch late one
evening to find a well-dressed, 30
something man filtering through the
recycling bin by her front door.
When Thompson asked if he knew
she returned the cans and bottles
for money, he politely told her he
was fundraising for his church
group and figured she put them out
to be collected.
“I really don’t think he was home
less,” she said. “And he smelled
good, even though he was wearing
too much cologne.”
What struck Thompson as odd
about the man was the time of the
supposed church collection—about
1 a.m. — so she told him to take the
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cans and bottles but asked him to
avoid rummaging by residences so
late in the evening.
“I felt rude,” she said, “but it’s
scary to hear people outside my
house at night.”
Thompson — who didn’t want to
speculate about what is bought
with money obtained by can rum
magers and Dumpster divers —
said she no longer leaves her empty
bottles on her front porch.
“I don’t care if (collectors) take
them,” she said. “But now I put them
by the Dumpster so that they don’t
come up on my property. ”
From the perspective of local au
thorities, can rummaging and
Dumpster diving are in no way dis
couraged until police receive tres
passing or vandalism complaints
from business or property owners.
“It’s not like an officer will stop
and cite someone engaging in these
activities,” Eugene Police Depart
ment Lt. Rich Stronach said. “But
(rummagers) should be mindful of
trespassing signs and refrain from
trashing the place.”
After interacting with compliant
rummagers and divers for more than
20 years, Stronach said the best way
for them to avoid complaints is to
ask permission before collecting. But
according to grocery stores in the
University area, the activity isn’t a
huge problem in the first place.
As a recycling center and casual
hang-out for local rummagers and
divers, Safeway, located at 145 E. 18th
Ave., has an in-house trash compactor
that eliminates the possibility of col
lector trespassing and vandalism. Al
though the assistant manager at PC
Market of Choice, located at 1960
Franklin Blvd., has encountered
divers in unlocked store Dumpsters,
he said he asks them to get out of the
containers for safety reasons and
rarely calls EPD to complain.
“We really don’t have a problem
with it,” he said.
Contact the reporter
at caronalarab@dailyemerald.com.
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