Nothing is better than free stuff, right? Wrong. Nothing is better than a site that helps you find free stuff.
GarbageScout does just that, if you live in New York City. The site lets you scan a map of the city (sponsored by Google Maps) to score junk that people have dumped in the streets. Run your mouse over the trash icons that populate the map for an image of the discarded item, a brief description, and an address. If you want to post your own garbage on the site, just snap a photo and post it on Flickr with the tag “garbagescout”, and it will automatically be added to the site. Make sure you post your item in the format “description@location”, for example, “rusty old table @ 58th and Broadway”. It’s free to post stuff on the site, and you can also sign up for feeds for both the blog and the site itself.
GarbageScout.com In Their Own Words
“The streets are full of interesting and potentially useful things that have been thrown out.
If you see something good, snap a picture of it with your camera or camera phone, post it to flickr with the tag garbagescout. It will go up on the home page and others can go and get it.
This will save energy, reduce landfill, save people money, and clean up the streets”.
Why GarbageScout.com It Might Be A Killer
GarbageScout is like nothing you’ve ever seen before, really. It would be really useful for anyone looking to get rid of stuff quickly, or for someone that needs to furnish a room on the cheap.
Some Questions About GarbageScout.com
Why can’t you post photos directly through the GarbageScout site? Why is it nessary to have a Flickr account in order to submit? This makes things unnecessarily complicated. Right now the service is limited to the NYC metro area; does GarbageScout plan on expanding? The site might also benefit from a more descriptive interface; right now the homepage is overwhelmed by an enormous map with minimal explanations of the service and how it works. 
