Tons ready to pick rubbish (5)
I believe the answer is:
tripe
'rubbish' is the definition.
('tripe' can be a synonym of 'rubbish')
'tons ready to pick' is the wordplay.
'tons' becomes 't'.
'ready to pick' becomes 'ripe' (I've seen this before).
't'+'ripe'='TRIPE'
(Other definitions for tripe that I've seen before include "Bunk" , "What some northerners eat" , "Rubbish, nonsense" , "Garbage" , "Ruminant's stomach lining" .)