War on Waste: Is it legal to take the junk people leave on the kerb for council clean-up?

Your neighbour has just put an old leather lounge out on the kerb for council clean-up.

It would go perfectly in your living room, and you’ve seen people pick up furniture from the street before, but are you legally allowed to take it?

Turns out it depends on where you live.

The laws around salvaging — or “saving” items that would otherwise be destined for landfill — are decided by your local council.

Some councils may have by-laws in place to prevent the activity.

But the advice in the majority of capital cities is that any junk left on the…