Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

The Art of Dumpster Diving

15 Comments

by Olivia Zaleski · 04/29/08

For many, the thought of going near a smelly dumpster, let alone touching, wearing or using the contents from inside of a dumpster is dirty, if not completely revolting. I say it’s wonderful!

Ok, ok, rewind. Though I have never riffled through the trash myself, I must admit to having tremendous respect for those who do. “Dumpster diving,” aka urban foraging, skally-wagging, garbage picking, binning, skip-raiding, skip-weaseling or trashing is very eco—an excellent way to cut back on today’s excessive landfill waste, pollution and rampant squandering of non-renewable resources. Think about it! By salvaging that which is still usable, garbage scavengers, or divers as they’re commonly referred, lower landfill levels while preventing the energy-sipping manufacture of resource-robbing objects.

As Americans hold the not-so-spectacular distinction of producing more garbage per person than any other country (source: Energy Information Administration), “Dumpster Diving” is gaining a newfound respect and practice amongst the environmentally concerned. It’s no longer just for Vancouver’s gutter punks and the hopelessly broke. Now, eco-sophisticates from Scobey to San Francisco (well, duh) are rolling up their sleeves in what many are calling an act of “consumer defiance” and “common sense conservation.” It’s very groovy!

If you think our consumer society and its willy-nilly throwaway mentality have become unbearable, consider taking the plunge—into a smelly dumpster near you. First, a few tips and words of caution . . .

1. Bring A Friend . . . Just in Case the Lid Closes on You

2. Quality not Quantity
Don’t take items that are beyond repair or flat out unsanitary. Do a sniff test, check for burrowing holes and critters. The last thing you want is a four-legged roommate with typhus.

Photo courtesy Disney.com

3. Timing is Everything
Not to capitalize on other’s misfortunes, but the 7th of the month is an excellent day for diving. Evictions happen on the 8th and well . . . it’s a tough world out there.

4. Hit Up the Gold Mines
Nothing says, “plethora of barely-used stuff” like college move-out day. Hung-over and drained from finals, most college students can scarcely move, let alone pawn off their Bed Bath and Beyond Booty. Take advantage. If you live near a university, especially one with rich and lazy students (i.e. Princeton . . .), make friends with the janitors. Pop-up hamper, multi-colored Yaffa Blocks or a water bong . . . you’ll be glad you did.

Photo courtesy swiftspeech.blogspot.com

5. Beware of Compactors
Please, never EVER enter a dumpster that includes a compactor—yes, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’” Shredder survived, but he’s a black belt certified villain. He’s also a cartoon.

Photo courtesy Legos.com

6. You’re Not Above the Law
It’s no surprise that identity thieves use dumpsters to scam your social security number and bank statements. Frustratingly, these few bad apples have ruined it for the honest diver. Several cities punish dumpster diving with heavy fines, even hard time. Research your local laws.

7. Beware of Biohazards
Best to pass up those dumpsters labeled “medical equipment,” “hazardous waste,” or “radioactive.” Also smart to keep up with immunizations.

Photo courtesy freelabs.com

8. Let God’s Creatures Forage Too
Always best to knock politely on the side of a dumpster before entering. This gives the rats, squirrels, possums, coons, black bears or fellow divers a heads up before you bombs away.

Photo courtesy http://clintjcl.wordpress.com/tag/journal/

9. Dress for Success
Sturdy clothing and gloves are a must. If injury prone, consider investing in a rubber onesie (Batman’s rubber bat-suit recently auctioned for 103K). Some seasoned divers advocate a costume to keep hecklers, law enforcement and archetypal do-gooders off your tail. I recommend the double knit-polyester food service uniform and matching hairnet. This makes you look like a hard-working employee, minding your own business and taking out the trash.

Photo courtesy filmnewz.com

10. Tools of the Trade
If you’re especially on top of your game, get one of those poles with a grabber at the end. Those are awesome and come in handy when playing tricks on annoying siblings. A miner’s helmet with attached light is great too, especially for night dives and buried loot.

Photo courtesy cactuspruner.com

dumpster diving, trash, waste

Living Modestly Is Not Uncomfortable

4 Comments

by Katie Kish · 01/27/08

I hate that living modestly is starting to be equated with disregarding the comforts that we’ve been given… instead of a noble and earth saving way of life.

I have a group of friends who all live together. In a maximum 6 person house (4 “real” bedrooms) there are 13 people. They have no television, only a couple of them have a computer, when I go over there are rarely lights on and they in no way went out of their way to buy new furniture or anything for the house. On top of these smaller things they also bike around – no one owns a car – cook together with vegan, organic, dumpster dived food and they run the house on grey water.

Just a quick summary for those who don’t know – dumpster diving is when you take food out of a dumpster to eat it. A lot of people get a little grossed out by this thought however having worked in a grocery store I assure you there is more than plenty of completely fresh and fine food being thrown out. Before knowing people who dumpstered I often thought “why would those dumpsters be locked???” but now I know that for whatever reason some grocery stores don’t want people stealing their garbage.

Grey water is essentially just reusing water. Most houses that are being built in Guelph are already implementing grey water systems directly into the house by connecting washing machine water to toilets. Said friends put the plug in during a shower and use shower water to flush toilets. And to be honest – the toilets don’t get flushed that often anyway.

For me, this would be an almost impossible way of living. I hate being cold, they never have the heater one. I live on my computer, they don’t have internet. I drink a liter of milk a day, they never drink milk. I will never will with a roommate ever again in my entire life unless I’m getting married, they live with 12 other people. It takes a lot of dedication and passion for the environmental movement to live this kind of lifestyle.

When I told my brother and a friend of mine about this they had the same reaction “that’s disgusting”. … I said that you would just have to get used it, but then they corrected me. Neither meant that it was physically disgusting, but that it was disgusting to see people choosing to live like “the poor”. They felt as though this was a mockery to people who couldn’t afford food, who couldn’t afford to live with just one family in a house and who couldn’t afford to keep their hydro on. Instead you have a household of by no means rich, but by no mean poor… group of kids who are choosing to not work and live like that. They choose to eat “garbage”, to be cold and to stay in the dark.

I brushed it off at the time, but it is now one thing that has been running through my head day in and day out. The only reason grocery stores throw out “almost” expired food is because if they lower the price people won’t buy the higher priced food – so they just keep it until it doesn’t make sense to sell it at the same price point and then toss out the perfectly good food.

Granted, dumpstering started out as a way to beat economic struggling but soon became a haven for “freeganism” (those who want to escape the consumerist life and culture) so it is backpacking off something poor people WERE doing. But with grey water… 50 – 80% of all residential water waste is from grey water.

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