Curb Day Means Free Robot Parts

Posted 13 May 2009 at 23:18 UTC (updated 14 May 2009 at 04:16 UTC) by steve

Saturday, May 16 is Curb Day and robot builders everywhere should get ready. Think of it as a global swap meet. The idea is that you inventory all your stuff and place anything you don't have a use for on the curb or in your driveway for the day. Random people will come by and haul away anything they want. Meanwhile, you'll be cruising through the neighborhood checking out everyone else's junk, looking for those motors, gears, motherboards, or old lawnmower engines you need to complete your next robot project. Curb Day was developed by Mike Morone who says

“Gas up your pickups. This could be a great opportunity to get some quality items. As of May 16th, it’s socially acceptable to sort through your neighbor’s junk.”

One word of caution though. Curb Day is a grass roots recycling effort and it's facing some opposition from the man in a few cities. Springfield, IL will be issuing citations if they catch you participating. Other cities such as Orlando and Des Moines are less hostile but have threatened citations for anything left on the curb after Curb Day is over. Most cities seem to like the idea and some have even integrated it with other recycling efforts like Cambridge, OH who will be providing disposal for unwanted leftovers. CC-licensed street sale photo by flickr user colros