I’ve been kicked out of local junkyards ½ dozen times or so now. It’s a tricky game of trying to reach the waste pile when no one is looking, and also seeing who is on duty in hopes of at least ensuring that the same person doesn’t experience the pattern of kicking you out multiple times. Perhaps they would get aggressive and even block you from dumping stuff if you’re kicked out too much.
Strictly speaking, it’s theft to take stuff from the junkyard. To be clear, the junkyards in my area do not sell parts. They just melt and refine the waste. The melt value is naturally less than the as-is value to someone who would repair or reuse.
IMO, the #rightToRepair movement needs to expand to give the public access to junk before it’s recycled or dumped into landfills.
Sometimes the staff kicks me out just for looking at the junk pile. Sometimes I encounter a balanced live-and-let-live worker who says I can pick through the junk on the edge of the pile, but cannot climb (due to injury risk). On another occasion, 3 workers approached me and I don’t recall what I said I was after, but they let me do my thing as they scattered (they did not want to be seen not enforcing the rules).
I agree liability is the real rationale but if they wanted to flex their muscle it’d likely just be a theft charge. In any case, a right to scrounge under the right to repair would naturally imply that the junk all be laid out at ground level for inspection before getting piled in a prohibited area.