I've been visiting the stretcher and receiving the newsletters for years but have only recently discovered these forums. I don't recall having seen much about my favorite hobby... Dumpster Diving. A lot of people feel very strongly on both sides of the issue and I'm curious what a group of people who are already leaning toward frugality make of it. If you like, you can check out my new blog for details of my own take on this awesome activity.

 

www.fcja523.blog.com

 

 There have been some comments on dumpster diving but most is tucked into discussions on other things. Feel free to post more about it.

My moderator stuff being said...I don't dumpster dive. Prior to living where I currently am, I lived in areas where people had to haul large items to the dump themselves so there was no chance of encountering a neat piece of furniture that just needed a good cleaning and a few screws. There was only literally digging into a person's trash can where food and who knows what was also lingering.

This was not only nasty and potentially dangerous but also prohibited. Digging in dumpsters of businesses and stores was also not allowed so no nifty finds there either.

I am not sure what the laws are in picking through dumpsters here but I do know we can put out our large items. So far, I haven't seen anything I would want to take.

 

  Legality is very important issue. In some areas it is actually illegal to dumpster dive. These laws are usually inacted to prevent identity theft (which happens mostly in residential trash, not dumpsters) or to prevent some divers from making a mess around the dumpsters. Both of these reasons are valid but neither addresses dumpster divers like me who dive for the purpose of recycling or repurposing items. This practice directly reduces landfill waste. I personally always leave an area cleaner than I found it.
  In my area, it is not illegal to dumpster dive unless the dumpster is locked or behind a locked fence. It is also illegal if it is specifically posted to keep out. It's not really a problem in this area, though. I'm not even aware of any that are hindered in such a fashion. With one notable exception, Sprawl-Mart locks up it's dumpsters. I think it's just a company-wide policy.
  I actually do quite well recycling a great variety of items and materials from my dives.

Please check out my new blog and feel free to leave comments.
www.fcja523.blog.com

 

Welcome, interesting blog. Babs

I do not dumpster dive, but we do have a trash day and my family has been known to troll for the good stuff- and we have taken things from the curb with a free sign on. I am not comfortable dumpster diving, it seems to me I live in a frugal part of the country, and only real trash is tossed, although I'm sure that lots of good stuff goes also. I think it is interesting that you do, on a regular basis. I would feel uncomfortable. One good thing that our area does is lots of food gets recycled to the food shelves, there is a very efficient Second Harvest group that is amazing at that.

 I've never actually climbed into a Dumpster, mainly because I don't know of any in my area except the one behind the supermarket, which smells absolutely vile.  (Also, climbing into something that big is a bit tricky when you're five feet tall.)  I have picked up lots of good stuff off the curb, though.  The one time my husband and I went poking through the bins at the university where he works, we nearly got arrested.  The ironic thing was, we had actually gone there to take something back.  Earlier in the week, he had taken five shipping pallets (with the express permission of the folks working there), but when we went to take back the one we didn't need, he decided to have a look in the bins, and while he was doing that, security showed up.  The campus cop warned us never to come back there again and then let us go.  I don't think we were actually breaking any laws, but I gathered that the college was concerned about its liability.  She said something about how "there had been deaths" in that area, presumably from people being injured or trapped in the Dumpsters.  So I guess that's another reason businesses might not want to allow it.

I dove once 32 years ago behind a warehouse that made furniture and found some interesting scraps and things. Its an intriguing concept but novices should be accompanied by seasoned divers. Like others here, we watch for things laid out on the side of the road for special trash pick-up. We have been rescuing old windows and removing the glass. My husband makes picture frames and we use the glass for that.

hello fellow dumpster diver at least me and my sister cheapchic are not alone in this,grandted its a dirty job but someone has to do it and its me and cheap chic we make the store owners aware of the trash what they throw out at times most of the time we keep our traps shut about it I don't want to see more like me and chic in the same canster with us we don't party well with others that do this but it feels good we are not the only ones.

Oh how cool toni B. now thats the way to do it cheapchic makes benchs out of pallets and I redo old tables.

I didn't make a habit of it but DW was offended when I got used department store boxes that way when we were moving.

As Jeff Foxworthy said in his "You might be a redneck if...." skit:

"You've ever brought back more from the dump than you took."

When I was about eight Dad and I went to the dump and brought back a Lionel train set. It is understatement to say that Mom was upset.