Have you ever been dumpster diving?

[ronpaulvoter]

With the economy sliding into depression, people are searching for new ways to make ends meet.

One way is to recycle other people's trash.

www.amazon.com/art-science-dumpster-diving


Have any of you ever done any dumpster diving, either recently or way back into the past?

 

[winston53660]

With the economy sliding into depression, people are searching for new ways to make ends meet.

One way is to recycle other people's trash.

Have any of you ever done any dumpster diving, either recently or way back into the past?

In college we got most of our furniture off the street. Amazing what one can find in NYC.

 

[Harry Guerrilla]

With the economy sliding into depression, people are searching for new ways to make ends meet.

One way is to recycle other people's trash.

Have any of you ever done any dumpster diving, either recently or way back into the past?

No but I have learned the dumpster doggy paddle and the dumpster backstroke.
Har har har :neutral:

 

[Travelsonic]

****, at the end of every semester, especially the spring semester, my college was [as in I don't go HERE anymore] a treasure trove - so much stuff tossed out not because it is bad, but because people didn't want to drag it all home.

 

[Mell]

I have been dumpster diving for years. Most of my furniture has been given to me by people who no longer want it. I live in a wealthy part of Germany, and people often just empty their house and then buy more stuff, even if the stuff they had still looks new. The folks around here tend to obsessively keep their things in perfect condition. I also get a lot of kiddy clothes and toys for my daughter like this.

When I lived in Ireland, I bought a lot of stuff in charity shops. People donate what they no longer want to the charity shops. Then the shop sells it and gives the profits to charity. It is a good way to get things like books, and childrens clothes and toys. When I got bored or no longer needed the stuff, I took it back to the charity shops, where it was resold. It is a very inexpensive way to aquire things.

 

[Glinda]

Heck yeah, I'll grab something I see in a dumpster that still has life in it. I also shop regularly at Goodwill/Sally Ann's/etc. Seriously and in all honesty, easily 75% of my clothes and furnishings are NOT brand new.

Is this embarrassing? Not in the least.

The people who should be embarrassed are those who condemn and/or do not restore/reuse/recycle.

 

[country]

Years ago I was informed by a dept store employee that the store occasionally threw away broken or defective toys. She showed me the dumpster they used so I periodically checked the dumpster, Sure enough,about once a week I would find toys that could be repaired. all through the year a friend and I would collect and repair these toys and donate them to a local charity to be given to low income neighborhoods on Christmas.
In addition to the good feeling it gave us, it gave me practice later when I had to repair my childrens broken toys.

 

[ptif219]

Back in the late 80's when I was homeless we did it behind grocery stores and bakeries for food. In the 90's I did it to collect aluminum cans

 

[Glinda]

I suppose I got my mindset from my parents. They were always finding new uses for old things, or taking bits from this to create that, and again, I don't see any shame in that. Quite the contrary, I believe that those of us who find or create new uses from things that others would throw away to have a FAR superior attitude and understanding of how to be a good human.

Shame on those who think otherwise. :thumbdown

Years ago I was informed by a dept store employee that the store occasionally threw away broken or defective toys. She showed me the dumpster they used so I periodically checked the dumpster, Sure enough,about once a week I would find toys that could be repaired. all through the year a friend and I would collect and repair these toys and donate them to a local charity to be given to low income neighborhoods on Christmas.
In addition to the good feeling it gave us, it gave me practice later when I had to repair my childrens broken toys.

country's story reminds me of (what I find to be) a crazily adorable story (I just LOVE my parents!):

Mom and dad are both 83 years old. A few years ago, they learned that the privately owned grocery store in the next town over (at which they regularly shop) throws out marginally (i.e., only slightly wilted) fruits and vegetables on a weekly basis. Mom and dad now regularly visit the loading dock of that store after dark, to collect lettuce and tomatoes and whatever else, which they feed to their chickens, which produce eggs for them and their neighbors.

Can you imagine? A couple of 83-year-olds climbing into dumpsters with flashlights in the middle of the night ! :lamo

I'll say it again, I LOVE my parents, not only for what they've taught me, but also for how they live their lives: AS RESPONSIBLE AND PRO-ACTIVE EARTHLINGS!

 

[lizzie]

Have any of you ever done any dumpster diving, either recently or way back into the past?

I've never been dumpster diving, but I love "junk" stores and Goodwill. If I see something on the curb that someone is throwing away, and I can use it, I will readily pick it up. Things cost too much to be throwing them away just because you don't particularly like them anymore. Besides, much of the old stuff is much higher quality than the new stuff.

 

[1069]

With the economy sliding into depression, people are searching for new ways to make ends meet.

One way is to recycle other people's trash.

www.amazon.com/art-science-dumpster-diving


Have any of you ever done any dumpster diving, either recently or way back into the past?

Yeah, in the early '90s, I used to hang out with a bunch of squatters (or "crusties" as they were called then).*
Actually, they were just a bunch of homeless dope fiend kids, but I hung out with them quite a bit for awhile, so yeah I've dumpster-dived.
But it's been a pretty long time.
We lived on campus (although we weren't students), so every time a semester ended, we'd score some hella good stuff out of the trash, because the students would move out and throw all their stuff away, some of it brand new, even still with price tags.
Right after Christmas, too, we'd get some pretty good scores.


* Um, like these guys, I guess: Crusties - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[rivrrat]

A big hell ****ing no.

 

[Orion]

When I was a kid my dad and I would drive around the industrial parts of Toronto and he would lower me into the bins after hours to look for furniture or hardwood that had been discarded. I was never put into gross waste like rotting food, but still, it was pretty ghetto of him.

In my university days I got most of my stuff from craigs list. I was in and out of the country a lot so I just needed disposable stuff for my home. Some day I'll probably have a more permanent home with nice furniture but for now I could care less. My stuff suits my needs and because it holds little meaning for me I feel a greater sense of freedom if I want to go traveling again.

 

[Caine]

Ive went dumpster diving for evidence or for investigation purposes.

I've also went dumpster diving looking for fleeing suspects

Also, searching some people's cars is the equivalent to dumpster diving.

 

[Glinda]

A big hell ****ing no.

I guess I can understand that some people would consider recycling/reusing/repurposing - and thus helping to preserve our fragile eco-systems - the most disgusting and tacky thing an individual could do. I expect that those folks prefer to spend their valuable free time floating down pristine rivers that the rest of us help to keep clean.

 

[1069]

I guess I can understand that some people would consider recycling/reusing/repurposing - and thus helping to preserve our fragile eco-systems - the most disgusting and tacky thing an individual could do. I expect that those folks prefer to spend their valuable free time floating down pristine rivers that the rest of us help to keep clean.

Ouch.

/ Glinda blows smoke off revolver barrel, twirls it, and holsters it.

 

[rivrrat]

I guess I can understand that some people would consider recycling/reusing/repurposing - and thus helping to preserve our fragile eco-systems - the most disgusting and tacky thing an individual could do. I expect that those folks prefer to spend their valuable free time floating down pristine rivers that the rest of us help to keep clean.

Probably want to try again.

Most of the **** I own is second hand. I have no ****ing problem with thrift shops, yard sales, or goodwill. Reusing/recycling is NOT dumpster diving.

But, I would have to be REALLY desperate, like starving desperate, like on the verge of death, to go jump in a ****ing maggot and rat filled dumpster and drag out some dirty ass ****.

You want to do that, go right ahead. I'll continue to find it utterly repulsive and disgusting.

And I don't think I ever ****ing saw you on my rivers rowing rafts full of garbage as we cleaned up the shoreline multiple times a year. And I'm guessing I'll likely not see you as I donate my weekends flying to the coast to helping clean up the oil soaked coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi. (if they call on me, I've put myself on multiple lists to be called) Let me know if you were there though, and I'll be sure to apologize.

 

[1069]

Probably want to try again.

Most of the **** I own is second hand. I have no ****ing problem with thrift shops, yard sales, or goodwill. Reusing/recycling is NOT dumpster diving.

But, I would have to be REALLY desperate, like starving desperate, like on the verge of death, to go jump in a ****ing maggot and rat filled dumpster and drag out some dirty ass ****.

You want to do that, go right ahead. I'll continue to find it utterly repulsive and disgusting.

And I don't think I ever ****ing saw you on my rivers rowing rafts full of garbage as we cleaned up the shoreline multiple times a year. And I'm guessing I'll likely not see you as I donate my weekends flying to the coast to helping clean up the oil soaked coastlines of Louisiana and Mississippi. (if they call on me, I've put myself on multiple lists to be called) Let me know if you were there though, and I'll be sure to apologize.

An incongruous attitude, it would seem, seeing as how you're an aficionado of/ participant in Burning Man.
I would've thought you'd be onboard with the whole philosophy of money-free living.

 

[Your Star]

No, but I did see a homeless guy get a full meal out of trash cans at the CNN center once.

 

[rivrrat]

An incongruous attitude, it would seem, seeing as how you're an aficionado of/ participant in Burning Man.
I would've thought you'd be onboard with the whole philosophy of money-free living.

What does burning man have to do with sifting through maggot infested, rotten garbage? I don't recall doing any of that during my burn weekends. I do recall, however, graciously donating whiskey to the bar, food and water to people who needed it, and partaking in what other people were donating. I don't recall anyone sifting through any garbage cans, though. I probably would have vomited if they had

 

[1069]

What does burning man have to do with sifting through maggot infested, rotten garbage? I don't recall doing any of that during my burn weekends. I do recall, however, graciously donating whiskey to the bar, food and water to people who needed it, and partaking in what other people were donating. I don't recall anyone sifting through any garbage cans, though. I probably would have vomited if they had

Both Burning Man and dumpster-diving (and squatting, and the whole lifestyle that goes along with it) are ostensibly about anti-consumerism.

Most people I've known who actually got food out of the garbage knew which restaurants to go to and when; at close, pizza places throw out all their "mistake" pizzas, still boxed; 7-11 throws out tied trash bags of unsold donuts and pastries very early in the morning, when new ones arrive.
These were the kinds of things they'd get out of dumpsters.
The bulk of their nutrients came from free feedings, which were ubiquitous in the area at that time to cater to the homeless youth population, and from the food bank at a place called Project Phase.

I don't recall them ever eating anything maggot-ridden.
In fact, they were food snobs; some of them were vegans. Nearly all were vegetarians.
A couple of the most pragmatic referred to themselves as "Freegans"; they'd eat anything, as long as it was free.
The bastards would only wash with Dr. Bronner's soap, too. Project Phase started giving it out for free, because if Dr. Bronner's wasn't available, they simply wouldn't wash, and they were dirty and at risk for staph and other illnesses.

 

[rivrrat]

Both Burning Man and dumpster-diving (and squatting, and the whole lifestyle that goes along with it) are ostensibly about anti-consumerism.

Most people I've known who actually got food out of the garbage knew which restaurants to go to and when; at close, pizza places throw out all their "mistake" pizzas, still boxed; 7-11 throws out tied trash bags of unsold donuts and pastries very early in the morning, when new ones arrive.
These were the kinds of things they'd get out of dumpsters.
The bulk of their nutrients came from free feedings, which were ubiquitous in the area at that time to cater to the homeless youth population, and from the food bank at a place called Project Phase.

I don't recall them ever eating anything maggot-ridden.
In fact, they were food snobs; some of them were vegans. Nearly all were vegetarians.
A couple of the most pragmatic referred to themselves as "Freegans"; they'd eat anything, as long as it was free.
The bastards would only wash with Dr. Bronner's soap, too. Project Phase started giving it out for free, because if Dr. Bronner's wasn't available, they simply wouldn't wash, and they were dirty and at risk for staph and other illnesses.

Lovely. Is this supposed to convince me I should scrape my food from the bottom of a ****ing garbage can?

I think not.

I'm not so ****ing lazy. I'll work for my food, whether that means getting it from someone else and paying them for their time and labor, or if it means growing it myself. Like I said, I'd have to be on the verge of death with no other alternative to go scraping garbage cans.

 

[The Mark]

Lovely. Is this supposed to convince me I should scrape my food from the bottom of a ****ing garbage can?

I think not.

I'm not so ****ing lazy. I'll work for my food, whether that means getting it from someone else and paying them for their time and labor, or if it means growing it myself. Like I said, I'd have to be on the verge of death with no other alternative to go scraping garbage cans.

I think the OP and many others were thinking of non-perishable items in the main, like the toys mentioned.

 

[Gina]

When I was a kid, all the stores were on two long boulevards. There were alleys behind the stores where they kept their dumpsters. The stores would periodically dump some their unsold stock (this was before Ross and the like) mannequins and other store displays. My friends and I would check every now and again for goodies like that to play with, put in our club houses etc...

I have never dived in a dumpster for food.

EDIT: I realize though that for some there is no choice.

 

[1069]

I think the OP and many others were thinking of non-perishable items in the main, like the toys mentioned.

Yeah, lots of good, usable stuff gets thrown away... but in order to take advantage of this situation, it helps to live around affluent, wasteful people, or in areas with a highly transitory population (for instance, as has been mentioned several times in this thread, college campuses).