We have a less formalized method of "freecycling" here: Trash days are on Monday and Thursday. If I have something that is usable but isn't something that Goodwill or the Salvation Army, etc., will take, I put it on the curb on Saturday evening. It usually disappears overnight, but if not, it has all day Sunday to be examined. I don't think there is anything that I've put out that way that HASN'T been picked up by someone before the trash guys arrive. This includes stuff like the old carpet padding and old carpet itself when we started remodeling. The padding can be recycled, I'm not sure about the carpet (25-year-old orange shag).

I've picked up some interesting things at the curb myself, under the same circumstances. The informal rule is that if it is trash in a sealed bag, you leave that alone. Anything meant to be given away is in clear sight. A while back the neighbors did have to chase a couple out of the regular trash up the street, after they poked through the recyclable stuff. I thought they made a lot of sense when they told the folks to limit their scavenging to the open boxes.

SRS