Dumpster diving is considered illegal in some places because that which is thrown away now belongs to the city, and divers also risk trespass charges. If in doubt, the safest approach is to ask the owner or business for permission.
Motivations include cutting spending, donating usable goods and disgust at how often intact products are thrown away — or a mix of all three. While dumpster diving was once widely seen as taboo, many now do it openly and post about it online.
People who rummage through commercial bins for discarded clothes, toiletries and household goods say they are saving hundreds of pounds or dollars a year, filling homes with salvaged items and giving surplus to charity.
A freelance journalist said that during a six-month stint this year, “I have probably saved hundreds of pounds.” On several trips she found “a perfectly decent” Ikea picture frame and children’s scooters. Others she donates or sells, including recently getting £30 for a men’s Barbour jacket. “We’re saving £100 a month for our kids but they won’t get it until they’re 57,” she said.
A 72-year-old in Fort Worth who has written books on the practice said he still dumpster dives every day by bicycle. “I still enjoy it as much, or more, than ever,” he said. “Almost everything in our home is scrounged, and I never buy, for example, soap or toiletries or medical supplies, or shoes and clothes and tools and garden supplies.” Through savings and selling more valuable finds, he estimated the haul was worth “tens of thousands of dollars a year.”.
Millie, 36, began after spotting fabrics discarded by a business that had shut down. She looks for textiles and clothing she can salvage and refashion into new items, some of which she then sells. “If I see something that catches my eye, then I’ll grab it,” she said. A 44-year-old sales assistant said: “I haven’t bought shampoo for eight years.” Like other dumpster divers, Charlotte gives many finds to charity. She has also filled her house with salvaged objects and sells some valuable items.
Jeff searches discarded metal to sell at a scrapyard, which he said earns him around $150 (£110) every two weeks. Darryl, 39, has joined the ranks of so-called dumpster divers. “I got my children entire new wardrobes,” she said, adding that she has goods put away for years to come.