Dumpster Diving

[B4UTRUST]

So over the last few weeks I've found an interesting hobby. There was an article in Wired not too long ago concerning people who dumpster dive and how much can be found/made from doing it. So, as an experiment in my area, I started going out exploring in the wee hours of the night. And let me tell you, it's certainly been eye opening. Here's some of the pictures of some of my dumpster hauls over the last few weeks. Not everything was photographed. Not shown are the spools of coax and CAT-5 cable, the numerous computer cables, power cables, A/V cables, network cables, motors, video game controllers, health and beauty products(tons of shampoo and conditioner travel sized packs found on one run) and other assorted things. One night I found a three fold dresser mirror set that one of the hinges was broken on. Took it home and plan to fix it this weekend for resale. Grabbed a pair of 2013 Air Jordan's out of one bin in great condition. Cleaned them up last night, rough estimate should get about $50-70 for the pair of shoes. A conservative estimate of usable food found this month is somewhere around $450-500 of food. Free. Whole gallons of milk have been found. Some of which are currently in my freezer awaiting use. Along with iced coffee, a ton of breads, rolls, buns, etc and many other finds that would have gone bad well before usage so were frozen. I can't even count how many packs of yogurt I didn't pick up just because we couldn't eat it all before it truly went bad. I could have easily recovered another $100-150 in yogurt alone and that doesn't even cover sour cream, cottage cheese and other things that didn't get pulled.

Many people balk at the idea of picking food from a dumpster. And that's fine. Almost everything pulled out was sealed and unopened and veritably good. The fruits and potatoes were from cardboard boxes on top of the piles that hadn't touched any of the other bagged things in the bin. Careful washing and most are fine. I never thought I'd be going around grabbing food out of a dumpster, but for half a grand of free food, I'll keep putting on my latex gloves and grabbing my flashlight for late night excursions.













Stay tuned for more finds as I come across them.

[rhoenix]

That's actually a pretty awesome thing you're doing, I think. And, it also shows just how thoughtless most of us can be about trash, especially if those things are relatively common finds.

[frigidmagi]

You wouldn't be finding any food in my trash. What you doing hitting gated communities or something?

[General Havoc]

Supermarkets, would be my guess.

[B4UTRUST]

Supermarkets mostly. Honestly, I'll go in right near closing time and watch for the carts. Usually there's an employee with a cart tossing stuff that people randomly drop on the wrong aisles and stuff that's hitting the sell by date. Gives me a rough idea of if there's anything worth waiting around for or coming back for a little later. People will a lot of times grab something from the produce section, bag it and then decide later that no they don't really need oranges so they just set them in another section of the store. The store can't risk it so it gets tossed.

Also, if you're interested in other spots locally for you guys to hit: Dunkin Donuts and Little Caesar's right around closing time. All the stuff that didn't sell that day that's not going to keep gets bagged and tossed. Sounds weird but I went to check it tonight and found about a half dozen whole pizzas, bread sticks and wings at the pizza place. Still warm in fact. Didn't have room after tonight's other haul to safely transport it in a separate area. Maybe another night.

Tonight's haul(pics to come)
About 5 or 6 garbage bags of random clothes(some new, with tags), several pairs of shoes(two brand new in box with tags), luggage, a working PS2 and a working PSP, a spy watch(LCD screen with a pinhole camera in it and mic, haven't watched any stored videos on it yet...), a stack of PSP, PS2 and PS3 video games, audio cds, two DVD players with remotes, a lamp, a half dozen bottles of misc perfumes with some brand names that may equal some $$(there's apparently a niche for this stuff on ebay) and a bunch of kids toys. The clothing was all women's and children's clothing. Not sure on it, though I may have my fiancee look through it and see if there's anything there she wants(scarves, etc) and donate the rest to somewhere. Going to look to see if there's a women's and children's shelter nearby that might want/need it. If not, Salvation Army or Goodwill for the tax credits. All in all a good night's haul. Going to have to check that place more often and add it to the rotation.

[B4UTRUST]

Today's haul - Valentine's day candy and stuffed animals.

[B4UTRUST]

I bring to you tonight an after action report of our latest mission to bring freedom to dumpsters and liberate the hell out of stuff - Operation Oreo Freedom.

On 3/3/2015, operating under the cover of night our team moved into position behind the targeted retail location. After deploying reconnaissance into the field to ensure no operational interruptions, we assaulted the fortified enclosure and gained access to the interior of the structure. After a brief visual survey, numerous discarded assets were discovered intact. The team inventoried then extracted the assets and resecured the enclosure. After extraction the team returned to a secure location. The mission was ranked as a success, though it saddens me to say that two recovered assets met an unfortunate end when being moved from the vehicle to the secure location. Due to an unfortunate accident the assets fell from the satchel containing them and shattered on the ground, rendering them unusable. No team members were injured or lost and all other assets were properly stored.

[Lys]

So what i'm gathering from this is that i should pay midnight visits to the back of the local supermarket.

[B4UTRUST]

So what i'm gathering from this is that i should pay midnight visits to the back of the local supermarket.

Garbage bags, disposable gloves and a flashlight. Layered clothing, dumpsters can be cold and wet and have sharp edges. Bring someone with you, diving alone is a risk. I've done it and do it occasionally, but it's a risk. I prefer to dive with a partner. Extra eyes, extra arms and more safety in numbers. Leave the site as clean or cleaner than you found it. Don't throw trash around and leave it. You make a mess for the employees they're going to start locking their dumpsters or gating them off. You don't want that. Avoid making messes and causing problems and most of the time you'll be fine. A long stick, rake or hoe or something is also a good idea to pull bags and boxes that are further in. It's never suggested to climb into dumpsters, especially alone. I've done it but there's a risk of getting stuck, injuring yourself or getting really dirty if you end up falling into something. Don't wear out your welcome and stay to long at any one spot. While not technically illegal(depending on your local municipal codes and laws), it's a grey area(mostly concerning trespassing). Usually I'll hit a spot, clear out as much as I can in about 5 minutes and move on. Very rarely do I stay longer than that and it has to be worth it.

Oh, and most importantly, have fun.

That's pretty much it for the 'rules' of dumpster diving.

[B4UTRUST]

I guess you could say that this makes me the...
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
Bread winner...





Food lion for the greek yogurt and ice cream(my inner fat kid is happy, my outer attempting to lose weight kid is not so happy). Rite Aid for the bread(soooo much bread, all in the freezer now). And Dunkin Donuts for the bagels and donuts. I ended up tossing a full 13 gallon garbage bag full of other bagels, donuts and donut bites just because there's no way in hell we'll eat them before they go completely bad and no room in the freezers or refrigerators.

At this rate I'm going to need another freezer to support my habit... it's addicting.

[frigidmagi]

Let me know if you hit any bookstores, I hear they toss books.

[B4UTRUST]

I keep trying them, Frigid, but no luck yet. Mostly anymore I get food which cuts down significantly on costs in the house.

[frigidmagi]

Hey that's fair, and I certainly can't give you marching orders. You're the one taking all the risks.

[B4UTRUST]

I look at it as a low risk scenario for decent profit. I'm trying to stockpile food now for the warmer months when some foods won't be as easily available. I'll switch to different hunting grounds then, trying tech and industrial sectors then. I check book stores at a decent rate but I haven't really found anything worthwhile yet.

Honestly, I encourage everyone to check their local laws and give it a shot. It's fun, it's exciting and its a great way to get stuff. Ill willing to walk anyone through it or help out how I can.

[B4UTRUST]

For your diabetes pleasure...





All told there is a little over 120lbs of candy from last night. 111 lbs of it was nothing but m&ms. Sadly, I just got tired of fishing boxes out of the bin and it was late. I filled up my Armada with candy and left. There was still more in there if someone else wanted it, I just couldn't muster the energy to keep digging it out. There is a real term for the effects of this in the diving community. It's referred to as diverbetus. Diabetes brought on by the sudden influx of fucktons of candy into the house via nighttime acquisition.

So sing along with me if you know the words!

Who can dive a dumpster?
And wash off the goo
Save enough chocolate
For a lifetime or two
The candy man!
Oh the candy man can!

Hmmm maybe I should change that to 'The diver man can...' Thoughts?

[B4UTRUST]

Update:
It's been a few weeks(well a month) since I updated this thread. I've continued my late night activities to much fun and profit. In the past month I've snagged an LCD tv(not working, but easily fixable), stuff to make a nicely stocked home medkit(bandages, compresses, rubbing alcohol, peroxide, wraps, heating pads, pain killers, neosporin, antacids, cortizone cream, etc), about 30 pints of high quality ice cream(Ben & Jerry's, Hagen Das), bread, chips, books(Yes, Frigid, I found a stash of books. Covers were removed and they were mostly romance novels that I gave to my mom), more random pastries and assorted junk food than you can shake a stick at, and last night's crowning achievement. The Easter Stash! Over 150lbs of easter candy. Over 100 Cadbury eggs. M&Ms, hersheys, Twix, Russel Stovers. My entire kitchen is full of diabetes. It's.. pretty damned impressive seeing it in person.
Link to photos