St. Johns, Portland, OR

 This is the first place I've lived where it seems legal (and socially okay) for people to dig through your trash. And I don't mean the dumpster outside your apartment building, or the trash bin on the corner. I mean your home's personal recycling, trash, and compost bins. 

On trash day, there is literally crowds of foot traffic going by the street looking through yours and your neighbor's trash cans. And its totally fine! No one shoos people away. No one tells them to leave. Oh help yourself! One man's trash is another man's treasure. 

I guess once you move your trash to the curb, they deemed it "released" to the public. 

I don't feel comfortable with that. The first night it happened, I freaked out. My brain started scanning my memory- trying to think of how many address labels I might have left on, how I didn't rip personal bank statements into small enough pieces, what else I could have thrown out that would reveal personal information, or be misused by someone else. 

Of course the assumption is that those people looking through the trash are out to get me. But what are they doing? What do they want? Are they looking for food? I'd rather just give them my leftovers or make them something than to have them go through my trash. 

Are they looking for something to sell? Well, we already have that covered. More often than not, in most Portland neighborhoods, there are tons of boxes of stuff labeled "Free" just set out in front of different houses. It's normal to walk around looking for donations and find them. 

In fact, by the end of my month in St. Johns, I started leaving stuff on the corner instead of bothering to take them to a donation site, or even the recycling at that point. After all, bottle are worth $0.10 in Oregon! For anyone who's ever read the reward for a recyclable in Oregon in shock.. this is because most supermakets here START out by charging you that money on your bill. Therefore, if you do not recycle it, you're actually paying a tax for not doing so. Now I collect green bottle bags too.... (those also cost $2) 

I'm all for recycling, but what a fucking process. Recycling is stressful here!!