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The Dumpster Diving Thread
What can I say?
Love of the odd, the free, and keeping nightime hours has now bit me.
I've always loved the idea of dumpster diving and would grab prime goods from
the garbage when I saw it whilst going about my business, but in the past three
days or rather nights, I've dived.
I have yet to sell some of the stuff I've found but that will happen, as I have two
perfectly good printers, and my boyfriend picked up a mini fridge I saw earlier.
I've picked up twenty pounds each of dog food for my neighbor and I.
And I picked up some new candles tonight, a beautiful table runner, a lace
curtain which is actually pretty and not grandmothery at all, a new unopened
thing of wrapping paper, and some dowels for some projects around the house.
oh, and about twenty nice hand towels that will be used for kitchen cleaning.
I've ben stoppe twice; once by the police (fuck you hobby lobby) and once by
mall security. The police officer was nice and I could tell he didnt have a personal
problem with scrounging, but had to do his job. He seemed....worried about me
diving at night. I had pepper spray, and a gun and a rottie in the car with thewindow
open enough that I could call him to me, plus my bf knew relatively where I was.
I say thatbecause security should be considered.
the mall cop, while professional...he just rubbed me the wrong way. He told me how
he's only there because one diver stabbed another for poaching on his dumpster.
I didn't find the story credible....though I suppose it's possible. I really think he was
lying to me.
Anyway, what are the experiences of those who actively dive?
Also, have you ever gotten permission from a shop manager to dive?
I'm really tempted to go door to door with a diving agreement/waiver to
ask permission to dive at the mall as I want to get at the dumpsters and effectively
block the security guard from what I feel is his snide and superior attitude.
oh, I found a new full size memory foam bed but I didnt find it until it had been sprinkling.
I woukd have grabbed my boyfriend and his truck but he had an early doctor's appt.
afterI told him, he was like, "why didn't you wake me up???" so I guess I have permission
to wake him :)
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Absolute best are College Campuses at the end of Semester and holy crap just before summer break starts.
I have not yet one upped a friend who fished a $600 Canondale out of a dumpster, or another that has pulled complete working desktop PCs.
Next is Condos and upscale apartment complexes.
When I asked, politely the Management was often surprised. I have even been called when they have big stuff and want to get rid of it as the Garbage company charges beaucoup extra for anything not in the can.
Retail stores are the ones most pissy about dumpster divers. Grocery store will break things open and pour bleach on them.
Some are just afraid of a lawsuit if you hurt yourself climbing into their dumpster.
Freecycle is great though I would open a disposable hotmail account just for the replies from Freecycle. There are people that seem to write 500 posts a day to freecycle demanding this and that, oh and can you deliver too.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
What a GREAT thread! I haven't, but I'd like to, kinda scurred..The closest I get to doing this is picking up empty alum. cans, I have 2 bigs put aside, various other metal scrap too
I was thinking of food, eek about the bleach..
I hope you give that shitty-sounding mall cop his much needed comeupance!
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Stores are also worried about items being salvaged from the dumpster and then brought in for a return for store credit as in.....''I got this and don't need it but lost the receipt" or ''I got this as a gift and would be happy with store credit. That is why things are often damaged or marked before dumping them.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
My dad does this and has found some cool things. He has actually found tons of things in the dumpster and sold them at garage sales making hundreds of dollars. Probably the coolest thing he found for me was a huge CD rack. It looks like this except it's brown not black: . He's also gone to stores as they were closing, looked in the garbage and found wrapped food.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
My mom did this with me when I was a kid. Its how we made money sometimes. I grew up selling shit in flea markets in California. I remember one day when I was only 10 years old my mom left me alone all day with our stand and didn't come back until the evening and I'd made 300 dollars. We sold stuff from like CVS/Walgreens mostly cosmetics and then we sold second hand clothes too.
I still like dumpster diving just for the nostalgic feeling. I drive by real slow when I see furniture in front of foreclosed/evicted homes and I'll get out if I see something worthy.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
I <3 Dumpster Diving! I used to do it all the time when I lived in larger cities! Thing's I've found for free in the past 4 years of Diving/Free-Saleling/Curb-Alerting:
- 3 NEW bar stools
-Bed Frame
-Couch
-TV/Entertainment Stand
-2 TV's (one 36 inch, another 27 inch)
-Coffee Table
-Dresser
-Book cases (2)
-Nightstands
-Lamps
-Microwave stands
-Mircowave
-Tons of misc. kitchen equipment
-Lots of household decor + nic-nacks (wall shelves, picture frames, curtian rods)
-Patio set
-Old Dell Computer monitor
-Bathroom vanity case
I can't say enough good things about free-saleling. It does good for the wallet AND the environment. People throw away so much good, reusable stuff. It makes me so sad....
About going around the mall with a waiver - I wouldn't bother. Managment wouldn't be able to sign anything giving you permission to dive without you becoming a liability of some sort - they'd just send you away. Best to just dive when no on is around. College campuses are a gold mine around graduation time (late April/Early May) becasue students are throwing out tons of furniture that they can't be bothered to bring back home (and it's usualy no more than a few years old). I'd also totally try for consignment shops around the middle of the month (when they clear out 'damaged inventory'). Lots of good sales there.
Check Craigslist for "Curb Alerts" in your area too. That's a good way to score some stuff, nearly guaraenteed. And knowing which nights of the month are "bulk trash disposal' nights in your nearby neighbourhoods helps too - thats when people throw out big ticket items (dressers, tables, chairs, etc).
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I remember seeing a documentary on Freegans, they get together & dive at night. I saw a group collect food together & at the end of the night split the food up to each other's needs. I will say I'm a very busy man & barely have time as it is, so I won't be diving but I was surprised at the catch they made at the end of the night.
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I've done this over the years, especially when I lived at large apartment complexes or when I was still living with the folks. I've LITERALLY found money (a large stash of coins that had perfume spilled on them) in a garbage bag.
My dad did the best though. When he worked for a private college about 6 yrs ago, he'd come home with all kinds of stuff that the students would throw away. He still gets craploads of stuff from the hotels he works for. I can still remember as a kid sitting around the fireplace and breaking down door knobs. (The door knobs were brass and weighted almost 2lbs a piece, and the hotel was just going to throw them all away since they were switching to electronic locks.)
Things We've (My dad & me) Gotten Out of the Trash:
-Numerous Vacuum Cleaners (That just needed to be de-clogged.)
-Ridiculous Amounts of TVs and VCRs with bad plugs and/or dirty heads.
-Working Fans
-Brand Name Clothes (Thrift Store Quality)
-Throw Away Electronics (I sold a projector on eBay for $600--worth $2k--that was being thrown out.)
-Unused/Barely Used Bathroom Stuff (Everything from toiletries to Shower Curtain Poles)
-Ridiculous Amounts of Furniture (My brother is sleeping on a queen mattress from a hotel.)
-Ridiculous Amounts of Towels/Bed Linens (I only buy towels if I move across country.)
-Odd Valuable Items: Working Mini Fridges, things that can be sold for scrap metal, working computer parts, etc.
...I still make money to this day selling crap that my dad brings home on the internet. Often when I'm having a slow month, I start eBaying and Craigslisting the shit out of stuff at my parent's place. (They're an odd breed of hoarders, honestly.)
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One reason the cops and security guards are supposed to patrol the dumpsters is because alot of people get in them to find sensitive info like usernames and passwords to there computer network.
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I worked in supermarkets for years, and the amount of waste was incredible! But they incinerated it, which I thought was a pretty poor choice.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
DigitalDemon
One reason the cops and security guards are supposed to patrol the dumpsters is because alot of people get in them to find sensitive info like usernames and passwords to there computer network.
You mean "low-tek/no-tek hacking." While I love the concept, I don't personally engage in it despite freely admitting that I dumpster dive. If I find a can with nothing, but papers (more than likely a recycling box), I move on.
Then again, I'm an odd breed of Domme.h
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mistresscyn
You mean "low-tek/no-tek hacking." While I love the concept, I don't personally engage in it despite freely admitting that I dumpster dive. If I find a can with nothing, but papers (more than likely a recycling box), I move on.
Then again, I'm an odd breed of Domme.h
True. The term is usually referred to as cracking(breaking into computers and networks) as opposed to hacking(pushing the boundaries of a computer or 'seeing what the computer can do')but I know alot of people dont know the difference between the two.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
I personally wouldn't do it because of the risk of harmful chemicals or bacteria, and also the legal issues behind it (it can be seen as stealing, and you can be arrested). I prefer thrift stores instead. Low cost & it supports a good store...
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A friend found me a $300 Coach bag while diving in a rich area of town. Yes!
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Oh, I love it. Boyfriend moved across from one of my fave dumpster diving spots so this week has been an extravaganza of DDing win.
two brand new roasting pans in the box.
two very pretty ceramic coated cast iron pans, one red, one blue new in boxes with lids,
a red pasta pan with lid also boxed
and a red ceramic coated dutch oven, boxed.
They are made in China which always makes me nervous (thus would never buy) but my boyfriend and his friend say that the process of making the pots have such high temperatures that any shady chemicals Chinese products sometimes have would have been burned away.
Oh, and a shit ton of produce bagged and in cardboard boxes away from any dumpster muck. That shit's going in the blender, or soups! A lot of fruits, and strangely lettuce (which I didn't grab since I don't really make food with that) and peppers. There was sadly a LOT of bread being thrown out but since I lean towards gluten free I didn't even bother.
Did find some clothes and shoes, all pretty brand new in a consignment shop's dumpster. Sadly, all menswear so maybe will sell on craigslist or worse-case, domate. Didn't grab the shoes but did tell a random guy who was painting the curb for the city about it since there were like nikes and other name brand shoes that seemed pretty new/gently used. He seemed like he was looking forward to checking it out. I hope he's got like a bazillion male friends and relatives to grab shoes for because I CANNOT believe they wouldn't flipping donate that stuff!!!
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Love this thread! I know someone that has a side antique business, he's spotted $80 antique beer cans while scrounging stuff dumped curbside on his drive home. He's type A, looks like he stepped off the pages of GQ, not someone you'd suspect dumpster dives... Another 'professional scrounge' has a key to the vacuums at do-it-yourself car washes, he's found lots of coins and jewelery. I often wonder if the owner of the car wash noticed that 'goodies' were no longer being found when he emptied the vacuums... I'm troubleshooting a freecycle treadmill that works intermittently, the owner just bought a new one because he couldn't wait for a service call...
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
I worked at an apartment building which was easily 80% students, and come move out time the dumpsters were overflowing with things and lining the driveway. The front desk guys would rummage through, one guy told me he found a new camera in the box and a laptop along with the home furnishings. A lot of the students went back home far away and couldn't pack it up.
When the neighbors in my complex have something with some worth to get rid of we'll put it in front of the dumpster so anyone driving past can grab it. We have can collectors who come by and dig through and load up huge garbage bags. My dog is scared to go to close to the dumpsters because there's often someone in them lol. Never seen law enforcement or security interfere.
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
Stoked. Just sold a brand new in box air mattress for $30.
Also got some brand new, looks like never been used ladies moccasins from a brand sold at Saks Fifth. They're not on their current shoe list, but the similar shoes in the same brand go for $275. Pretty leather and stitching but alas, not my style, so they're getting sold as well.
I also got a bunch of women's work out gear that fits me, and a few more brand new (not kidding, no scuffs on bottom of shoes) cross trainers, and leather shuffle slipper shoes.
Here's a great article I found from someone diving in Canada:
http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/06/com...8doctorow.html
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This intrigues me! I live in a small town, I wonder if I could find anything good around here...so I have a question. Do you actually dig through the dumpsters? How do you not get disgusting things on you ? Lol. Or do you just look and see what's easily accessible on top?
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Mostly I just see what's accessible on topn Only rarely, like when I found one new in box cast iron and saw other boxes dotted underneath stuff did I actually get in and fish it out. Just depends on what you seen I keep meaning to bring an easily sanitized stick.
There's one place I go to that I get my dogs food (they get fed raw.) Yesterday I went diving in the morning instead of at night, because I was tired then. I was so pissed when I showed up. There was easily over three hundred pounds of packaged meat. It wasn't even expired the day it was thrown out. It was expiring the NEXT day. So I was pissed I didn't get there because that's a crazy amount of the protein portion of dog food (and I have two muscle bound food whores), and I was also pissed that there was TIME to donate the food and still get it to needy families before the expiration. I don't want to compromise my spot but when I move in a couple months, a few of the food pantries around here are getting details on this place, and they can either try to convince managedment or dive themselves.
Thing that made me really sad (and I can afford food but even I would have still eaten these because they're a fave from when I was a kid) is that they'd dumped maybe two or three dozen of those vacuum sealed bacon wrapped filet mignons and they were right on top.
keep.in mind, most of the stuff got chucked in their plastic carrier bins. And had I gotten there fifteen minutes after close and the meat was still well within the temp safety range, I would have taken as much as possible.
I don't think we've had to by our dogs any food really in the last month but they have gotten steak tips and pork roast that I cooked to be safe (not that dogs should really get pork that often and it should always be cooked because of parasites.) They've also gotten lots of sweet potatoes, apples, oranges, bananas, and eggs.
I dive more as a hobby but it's been saving us money there.
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all my friends growing up liked dumpster diving..i never did it because it was a little too close to reality to be fun lol, but they found some great stuff ! as long as you don't take food..i remember my friends mom served us all broccoli she found in the dumpster that day and didn't tell us til after we had finished. i was so pissed..it wasn't even found covered lol eww..but i did get a great pair of pants out of bed bath and beyond dumpster :)
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
I really want to get into dumpster diving more! It sounds so fun! I have gotten some things from college kids moving out, etc. but never actually from a dumpster. I'm scared that if I went behind a store I could get in some kind of trouble :( Does anyone know the legalities of this?
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Re: The Dumpster Diving Thread
You might check the tresspassing law in your jurisdiction.