There was lots of great feedback to my last post! Readers were (as you’d expect) pretty annoyed that I got a ticket, and offered many valuable ideas and solutions to the issue.
I’ve been considering my options the last few days and have decided to pay the ticket. I have a lot of work to do already, and don’t want to add a court challenge (big or small) to my to-do pile. I also feel that it’s likely in my best interest to keep my trash picking activities as low-key as possible for the time being. Increased attention could have some negative consequences, including an increased focus by local security to track me down.
I like the idea of bringing this to the media, but again I’ve got lots of work to do and would prefer to avoid the limelight. Perhaps I’ll go about making a bigger fuss if / when my trash picking becomes a part-time thing again. For now, I want to continue to focus on blogging, picking, and selling (holiday season is coming up!), while also putting work into side projects like making a zine for this years Expozine.
Many readers have graciously offered to contribute to the payment of this fine. Any help would of course be greatly appreciated! Those interested can use the donate widget on my “Support the Blog / Donate” page. The button is powered by PayPal but it also allows you to donate using a credit card. Otherwise, those who don’t like doing this kind of thing via the internet can also mail a cheque via snail-mail. Just email me at thingsifindinthegarbage@gmail.com and I can send you my mailing address.
As for my plans going forward, I intend on continuing my weekly TMR trash run. I’ll just be extra careful to avoid the security guys. There’s just so much good stuff and great history to be saved, and I’ve managed to avoid security much more often than not. I’m actually going to head there tonight… hopefully everything goes according to plan!