Dumpster diving is the epitome of equal opportunity consumerism, best showcased by colleges during the bountiful, if not lucrative, weekend after graduation. The Times examined the seedy underbelly of capitalism through the lens of the freegans, who provide an unappetizing but compelling example to price-conscious consumers.
Freegans are scavengers of the developed world, living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism. They forage through supermarket trash and eat the slightly bruised produce or just-expired canned goods that are routinely thrown out, and negotiate gifts of surplus food from sympathetic stores and restaurants.
Finding furniture on the street is one thing, but we draw the line at consumables. What are your experiences and thoughts on dumpster diving? Tell us in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Not Buying It [NYT]
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I throw away a lot of stuff just because if I am not using it at a given time, it’d probably be easier for me just to buy it again in six months rather than store it some place for 6 months and then use it again.
It warms me to know that what I consider trash, youthful New York City communists consider treasure. This would similarly apply to their philosophy, but… well… we won’t go there. Good for them, good for me, good for all of us.
Someone once scavenged used motor oil from my yard – This dude just came up on a bicycle, looked around, yanked my 5 quart Mobil 1 jug and took off. The funny part was that the contents were about 70-30 mix of freshly changed oil and the remains of about 9 month old used oil + water that had seeped in to the catch pan.
One thing that kind of bugs me about freegans is that a lot of them have access to forums and websites where they can trade information on when stores throw out their stuff, which places have the best food, and soforth — so they can get the good stuff before homeless people show up. It seems to me that the impoverished ought to get first dibs, not the people who have money but choose not to spend it on food.
Definitely a fan of regular non-food dumpster diving, though. Curbside bulk pickup days are the best for that. The scrappers around here make their living off other people’s old appliances and other scrap metal.
I am a newcomer to dumpster diving, and my recent dumpster excursions have been very rewarding. Just this past weekend I recovered a painting, some towels, rubbermaid boxes, at least a year’s supply of laundry detergent and a couple satisfying meals. Some fast food joints throw away entire salads in the original boxes, clean fresh and free. Food abounds in the dumpsters and I can even afford to be a little picky with lunch.
@hmart316: Definitely a good investment of my time when I did the same install myself. I do wish it had a little more guts when it comes to video decoding, but who can complain for the price?
As far as freecycling, I’ve been trying to get a job working at the local college, since it should be fairly regular and solid work. Usually for every two to four buildings, you just have to know the “dumping spot” and you’ll find all sorts of interesting things thrown out. So far an office chair that just needed junk pulled out of the castors, a 3GHz P4 w/ Hyper threading, a working LCD monitor, a pair of microscope lenses that might be useful someday down the line, and plenty of SD RAM for myself and a friend that does computer repair on the side.
In addition to that, there’s a local not-for-profit that operates out of a storage area for the ScienceCenter in town. Computer repair, refurbished computer sales, office furniture, etc. They’ve got a few volunteers that watch the drop-offs like absolute hawks.
@markedward: If it’s anything like my college, they should end up in the school surplus where they are given away if you happen to be on the school payroll. You can also find those nice projectors they use in class rooms for 1/10th of the original cost ^^