What I Learned from a Taipei Alley
My other comment was a little too negative, so here&#x27;s two positive alternatives.<p>The American system of throwing lots of great things into unlocked dumpsters does wonders for the poor. It&#x27;s much more effective than non-profits, who might only help citizens&#x2F;legal residents&#x2F;etc. When I was broke in California, I ate food from dumpsters for about 6 months.<p>The French recycling system has large bottle banks placed in each village, where plastic, glass, and paper can be deposited. The council also issues free compost bins to houses that have gardens, so they can dispose of organic waste and make their own fertiliser.<p>Other items (wood, electronics, furniture) take more effort. In France these can be taken to a &quot;déchetterie&quot;, or scrapyard. That would be great, except that it&#x27;s recently become a <i>crime</i> to remove items from these. That&#x27;s actively hostile to the right to repair. In America it was often free to fish for scrap, and in Taiwan &amp; Korea I&#x27;d just have to pay a small fee based on weight. Most of the computers and bicycles I owned came from scrapyards.<p>Can anyone else offer insight from other countries?