Cheap Living: Dumpster Diving

Cheap Living: Dumpster Diving

by scuzzy-elo

Dumpster Diving

Guide by: scuzzy-elo 2003

Introduction

The art of dumpster diving is not what the name depicts. It is simply the sifting through targeted dumpsters for useful items. For my examples I will assume that the diver is looking for electronics and has a car.

Materials

Gloves

Flashlight (varies; I suggest going during the day as there is plenty of light)

Box cutter

Pocketknife

Dirt clothes (clothed you don’t mind ruining)

Old towels

Trash bags

Duffel bags

Car (preferred but dumpster diving can be done without a car for storage)

Durable pair of shoes or galoshes

Procedure

Pick the types of items you are looking for. Now think of stores that sell those items and locate their dumpsters. Check to make sure there are no other people around and proceed to the dumpster. Open the dumpster either by the large covering on top or a small sliding door on the side. Take a good look over the items in the top layer of the dumpster. If you can clearly see that there is nothing good to be found then proceed to a different dumpster. If you are unsure, put on your gloves and climb inside the dumpster. Next, grab large pieces of trash and toss them out of the dumpster. This makes a clearer area for you to search through. Now look through all the items in different layers If you see any trash bags tied off, open them in one corner of the dumpster and examine their contents. The easiest way would be to cut off the knots at the top with a pocketknife. If nothing good is found, stuff the contents back into the bag and place it to one side. Repeat through all other bags. If you find a box, filled with an item, which has been taped off for security, a box cutter would come in handy. Since the items inside are probably not in their original container, cut slowly and not to deeply as the items may be set tight against the top of the box and you might cut the items.

When you make a find, note its condition before taking it. Make sure it will function properly for what you want it for. If it requires minimal work to fix, this is still a great find. Next, note the exterior. If it has dirt/grease on it, spread a towel over the back seat of your car and set the items you find on it. Sometimes, when items are recalled, you will find a lot of the same item. In these cases, stuffing the items into a trash bag would store better and more can be added to your storage area from later finds. If a trash bag seems to crude for the lot of items, storage in a duffel bag may help.

After you have searched a dumpster, put any items that you threw out back inside. This keeps the store from knowing that their dumpster has been tampered with.

Notes

This obviously can be easily adapted to fit your given situation. The examples used were for simplification purposes.

You may run into a dumpster that is covered and has a trash compactor. The method of getting into these is very complicated and requires a lot of different tools. Not only that, being inside one of those is clearly dangerous.

Some stores, or just individual workers, do not appreciate divers browsing through their garbage. If one were to perform this activity, precautions would need to be taken to ensure your security while diving.