Kerby Lau does not like seeing good things go to waste.
The San Francisco firefighter joined the Buy Nothing (San Francisco) group on Facebook about a year and a half ago. He started claiming free items that members were offering and giving away things he did not need in exchange.
Lau remembered the first bicycle he ever gave away.
"It was sitting out in the rain for about six months, out in the backyard and stuff, and I had to put in a lot of work," he said. "The woman who I gave it to brought their kid, and seeing the kid’s face when he sat on the bike was pretty amazing."
Soon, he was taking things to the next level.
"It started for me, it was the dresser,” he told KCBS Radio. "There was this beautiful wood dresser that someone had thrown out and someone (posted on the Facebook group), ‘Please go save it.’"
He drove out to save it and gave it away through the group.
Lately, Lau has noticed more and more people seemed to be moving out of their San Francisco homes.
"It would break my heart just to see all this stuff being thrown out," he said, "Like nice stuff that people could use. So I started picking stuff up and I started bringing them home and cleaning them up. I picked up a brand new bike - almost - in a Recology pile this morning. Someone was moving and just left it there and all it needed was just air in the tires."
He's rescued so much stuff his car no longer fits in the garage. Furnished with salvaged couches, tables, shelves and decorations, he has dubbed it "Kerby’s House of Giving." The stockpile has made him pretty notorious among Buy Nothing’s more than 24,000 members.
"I had a guy riding his bike last week, my garage door was open and he said, ‘Hey wait a minute! I know that garage!’" Lau laughed.
During the coronavirus pandemic, Lau has discovered trash really can be treasure. Once, instead of recycling his used cans, he asked if anyone would like his stockpile. "Someone took them. That family lost their jobs and stuff, and they were doing the cans to make it," he explained.
When he realized how much some families are struggling, he started asking people who were coming to pick up free items if they could bring donations for a Thanksgiving food drive.
"People stepped up and brought me all that stuff and I collected that. I had over 600 cans. I don’t know how many pounds of rice and pasta I had."
Ultimately, for Lau, it is about making people happy and saving items from landfill. So, his giving is not only limited to people who might not otherwise be able to afford the items.
"I have had people show up by bus. I had a guy show up in a Maserati," he said.
All he needs is a thank you.
Better yet, he loves it when people send photos of the gifts in their new homes.
"That makes me happy, that I know that they’re using it."
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