Dumpster diving (also totting,
skipping, skip diving or skip salvage
) is
salvaging from large commercial, residential, industrial and construction containers for unused items discarded by their owners but deemed useful to the picker. It is not confined to
dumpsters and
skip
Skip or Skips may refer to:
Acronyms
* SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene
* Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol
* SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...
s specifically and may cover standard household waste containers, curb sides, landfills or small dumps.
Different terms are used to refer to different forms of this activity. For picking materials from the
curbside trash collection
Kerbside collection or curbside collection is a service provided to households, typically in urban and suburban areas, of collecting and disposing of household waste and recyclables. It is usually accomplished by personnel using specially built ...
, expressions such as curb shopping, trash picking or street scavenging are sometimes used. In the UK, if someone is primarily seeking recyclable metal, they are scrapping, and if they are picking the leftover food from farming left in the fields, they are gleaning.
People dumpster dive for items such as clothing, furniture, food, and similar items in good working condition.
Some people do this out of necessity due to
poverty
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...
,
others do it for
ideological reasons or professionally and systematically for profit.
Etymology
The term "dumpster diving" emerged in the 1980s, combining "diving" with "
dumpster", a large commercial
trash bin
A waste container, also known as a dustbin, garbage can, and trash can is a type of container that is usually made out of metal or plastic. The words "rubbish", "basket" and "bin" are more common in British English usage; "trash" and "can" a ...
.
The term "Dumpster" itself comes from the Dempster Dumpster, a brand of bins manufactured by Dempster Brothers beginning in 1937. "Dumpster" became
genericized
A generic trademark, also known as a genericized trademark or proprietary eponym, is a trademark or brand name that, because of its popularity or significance, has become the generic term for, or synonymous with, a general class of products or ...
by the 1970s.
According to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'', the term "dumpster diving" is chiefly found in
American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
and first appeared in print in 1983, with the verb "dumpster-dive" appearing a few years later.
In
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
, the practice may be known as "skipping", from
skip
Skip or Skips may refer to:
Acronyms
* SKIP (Skeletal muscle and kidney enriched inositol phosphatase), a human gene
* Simple Key-Management for Internet Protocol
* SKIP of New York (Sick Kids need Involved People), a non-profit agency aidin ...
, another term for this type of container.
Alternative names for the practice include bin-diving, containering, D-mart, dumpstering, totting,
[ and skipping. In Australia, garbage picking is called "skip dipping."]
Participants
The term "binner" is often used to describe individuals who collect recyclable materials for their deposit value. For example, in Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
, British Columbia, binners, or bottle collectors, search garbage cans and dumpsters for recyclable materials
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
that can be redeemed for their deposit value. On average, these binners earn about $40 a day for several garbage bags full of discarded containers. Some are scammers seeking for receipts to use in committing return fraud
Return fraud is the act of defrauding a retail store by means of the return process. There are various ways in which this crime is committed. For example, the offender may return stolen merchandise to secure cash, steal receipts or receipt tape t ...
.
The karung guni
A ''karung guni'', also spelled as ''karang guni'', is a type of scrap dealer in Singapore. Its practitioners are a modern form of rag and bone man that visit residences door-to-door to acquire unwanted items.
Etymology
"''Karung guni''" is ...
, Zabbaleen
The Zabbaleen ( arz, زبالين ', ) is a word which literally means "garbage people" in Egyptian Arabic.Assaad, Ragui. (1996) Formalizing the Informal? The Transformation of Cairo's Refuse Collection System. ''Journal of Planning Education & R ...
, the rag and bone man
A rag-and-bone man or ragpicker (UK English) or ragman, old-clothesman, junkman, or junk dealer (US English), also called a bone-grubber, bone-picker, chiffonnier, rag-gatherer, bag board, or totter, collects unwanted household items and sells t ...
, waste picker
A waste picker is a person who salvages reusable or recyclable materials thrown away by others to sell or for personal consumption. There are millions of waste pickers worldwide, predominantly in developing countries, but increasingly in post-in ...
, junk man
Junk may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Junk'' (film), a 2000 Japanese horror film
* '' J-U-N-K'', a 1920 American film
* ''Junk'' (novel), by Melvin Burgess, 1996
* ''Junk'', a novel by Christopher Largen
Music Groups
* Junk (band), a ...
or bin hoker are terms for people who make their living by sorting and trading trash. A similar process known as gleaning was practised in rural areas and some ancient agricultural societies, where the residue from farmers' fields was collected.
Some dumpster divers, who self-identify as freegan
Freeganism is an ideology of limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources, particularly through recovering wasted goods like food. The word "freegan" is a portmanteau of "free" and "vegan". While vegan ...
s, aim to reduce their ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounti ...
by living from dumpster-dived-goods, sometimes exclusively.
Overview
The activity is performed by people out of necessity in the developing world. Some scavengers perform in organized groups, and some organize on various internet forums and social networking websites. By reusing
Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function ( creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of u ...
, or repurposing, resources destined for the landfill
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
, dumpster diving is sometimes considered to be an environmentalist
An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
endeavor, and is thus practiced by many pro-green communities. The wastefulness of consumer society and throw-away culture compels some individuals to rescue usable items (for example, computers or smartphones
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, which ...
, which are frequently discarded due to the extensive use of planned obsolescence in the technology industry) from destruction and divert them to those who can make use of the items.
A wide variety of things may be disposed while still repairable or in working condition, making salvage of them a source of potentially free items for personal use, or to sell for profit. Irregular, blemished or damaged items that are still otherwise functional are regularly thrown away. Discarded food that might have slight imperfections, near its expiration date, or that is simply being replaced by newer stock is often tossed out despite being still edible. Many retailers are reluctant to sell this stock at reduced prices because of the risks that people will buy it instead of the higher-priced newer stock, that extra handling time is required, and that there are liability risks. In the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, cookery books have been written on the cooking and consumption of such foods, which has contributed to the popularity of skipping. Artists often use discarded materials retrieved from trash receptacles to create works of found objects or assemblage.
Students have been known to partake in dumpster diving to obtain high tech items for technical projects, or simply to indulge their curiosity for unusual items. Dumpster diving can additionally be used in support of academic research. Garbage picking serves as the main tool for garbologists, who study the sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
and archeology
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
of trash in modern life. Private and government investigators may pick through garbage to obtain information for their inquiries. Illegal cigarette consumption may be deduced from discarded packages.
Dumpster diving can be hazardous, due to potential exposure to biohazardous matter, broken glass, and overall unsanitary conditions that may exist in dumpsters.
Arguments against garbage picking often focus on the health and cleanliness implications of people rummaging in trash. This exposes the dumpster divers to potential health risks, and, especially if the dumpster diver does not return the non-usable items to their previous location, may leave trash scattered around. Divers can also be seriously injured or killed by garbage collection vehicles; in January 2012, in La Jolla, Swiss-American man Alfonso de Bourbon
Alfonso de Bourbon Sampedro (born Leon Shafferman; 22 October 1932 – 10 January 2012), known as The Count, was a Swiss-American eccentric who claimed to be a descendant of the Spanish Royal Family and a first cousin of King Juan Carlos. Bourbo ...
was killed by a truck while dumpster diving.
Dumpster diving with criminal intentions
Discarded billing records may be used for identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
. As a privacy violation
The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 194 ...
, discarded medical records as trash led to a $140,000 penalty against Massachusetts billing company Goldthwait Associates and a group of pathology offices in 2013 and a $400,000 settlement between Midwest Women's Healthcare Specialists and 1,532 clients in Kansas City in 2014.
Criminals have been known to dumpster dive for cash receipts as part of a scheme to steal items and return them for cash, a form of return fraud
Return fraud is the act of defrauding a retail store by means of the return process. There are various ways in which this crime is committed. For example, the offender may return stolen merchandise to secure cash, steal receipts or receipt tape t ...
known as "shoplisting." Police investigating shoplifting in Bellingham, Washington found dozens of receipts from retailers such as The Home Depot
The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement re ...
, Rite Aid and Fred Meyer
Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...
, along with a list of items on the receipts. Suspects believed to have taken receipts from trash receptacles near Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
locations were arrested for return fraud
Return fraud is the act of defrauding a retail store by means of the return process. There are various ways in which this crime is committed. For example, the offender may return stolen merchandise to secure cash, steal receipts or receipt tape t ...
in 2016 in Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...
.
Legal status
Since dumpsters are usually located on private premises, divers may occasionally get in trouble for trespassing while dumpster diving, though the law is enforced with varying degrees of rigor. Some businesses may lock dumpsters to prevent pickers from congregating on their property, vandalism to their property, and to limit potential liability if a dumpster diver is injured while on their property.
Police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
searches of discarded waste as well as similar methods are also generally not considered violations; evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
seized in this manner has been permitted in many criminal trials. In the United States this has been affirmed by numerous courts including and up to the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
, in the decision ''California v. Greenwood
''California v. Greenwood'', 486 U.S. 35 (1988), was a Legal case, case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the Search warrant, warran ...
''. The doctrine is not as well established in regards to civil litigation.
Companies run by private investigators specializing in such techniques have emerged as a result of the need for discreet, undetected retrieval of documents and evidence for civil and criminal trials. Private investigators have also written books on "P.I. technique" in which dumpster diving or its equivalent "wastebasket recovery" figures prominently.
By country
In 2009, a Belgian dumpster diver and eco-activist nicknamed Ollie was detained for a month for removing food from a garbage can, and was accused of theft and burglary. On February 25, 2009, he was arrested for removing food from a garbage can at an AD Delhaize supermarket in Bruges. Ollie's trial evoked protests in Belgium against restrictions from taking discarded food items.
In Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada, the '' Trespass to Property Act''—legislation dating back to the ''British North America Act'' of 1867—grants property owners and security guards the power to ban anyone from their premises, for any reason, permanently. This is done by issuing a notice to the intruder, who will only be breaking the law upon return. Similar laws exist in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...
and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
. A recent case in Canada, which involved a police officer who retrieved a discarded weapon from a trash receptacle as evidence, created some controversy. The judge ruled the policeman's actions as legal although there was no warrant present, which led some to speculate the event as validation for any Canadian citizen to raid garbage disposals.
Skipping in England and Wales may qualify as theft within the Theft Act 1968 or as common-law theft in Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, though there is very little enforcement in practice.
In Germany, dumpster diving is referred to as "containern", and a waste container's contents are regarded as the property of the container's owner. Therefore, taking items from such a container is viewed as theft. However, the police will routinely disregard the illegality of garbage picking since the items found are generally of low value. There has only been one known instance where people were prosecuted. In 2009 individuals were arrested on assumed burglary as they had surmounted a supermarket's fence which was then followed by a theft complaint by the owner; the case was suspended.
In the United States, the 1988 ''California v. Greenwood
''California v. Greenwood'', 486 U.S. 35 (1988), was a Legal case, case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment does not prohibit the Search warrant, warran ...
'' case in the U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
held that there is no common law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
expectation of privacy for discarded materials. There are, however, limits to what can legally be taken from a company's refuse. In a 1983 Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
case involving the theft of customer lists from a garbage can, ''Tennant Company v. Advance Machine Company'' (355 N.W.2d 720), the owner of the discarded information was awarded $500,000 in damages.
Items
Dumpster diving is practiced differently in developed countries than in developing countries.
* Food. In many developing countries, food is rarely thrown away unless it is rotten as food is scarce in comparison to developed nations. In countries like the United States, where 40 to 50 percent of food is wasted, the trash contains a lot more food to gather. In many countries, charities collect excess food from supermarkets and restaurants and distribute it to impoverished neighbourhoods. Trash pickers, Karung guni
A ''karung guni'', also spelled as ''karang guni'', is a type of scrap dealer in Singapore. Its practitioners are a modern form of rag and bone man that visit residences door-to-door to acquire unwanted items.
Etymology
"''Karung guni''" is ...
, Zabaleen
The Zabbaleen ( arz, زبالين ', ) is a word which literally means "garbage people" in Egyptian Arabic.Assaad, Ragui. (1996) Formalizing the Informal? The Transformation of Cairo's Refuse Collection System. ''Journal of Planning Education & R ...
, and rag and bone men in these countries may concentrate on looking for usable items or scrap materials to sell rather than food items. In the United States, Canada, and Europe, some bakeries, grocery stores, or restaurants will routinely donate food according to a Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, but more often, because of health laws or company policy, they are required to discard food items by the expiration date, because of overstock, being overly ripened, spoiled, cosmetically imperfect, or blemished.
* Books and periodicals. As proof to publishing houses of unsold merchandise, booksellers will routinely remove the front covers of printed materials to render them destroyed prior to disposing of their remains in the garbage. Though readable, many damaged publications have disclaimers and legal notices against their existence or sale.
* Irregular or damaged goods. Office
An office is a space where an Organization, organization's employees perform Business administration, administrative Work (human activity), work in order to support and realize objects and Goals, plans, action theory, goals of the organizati ...
s, factories, department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s, and other commercial establishments may equally throw out non-perishable items that are irregular, were returned, have minor damages, or are replaced by newer inventory. Many items tend to be in such a state of disrepair or cosmetically flawed that they will require some work to make the items functionally usable. For this reason, employees will at times intentionally destroy their items prior to being discarded to prevent them from being reused or resold.
* Returned items. Manufacturers often find it cheaper to routinely discard items returned as defective under warranty instead of repairing them, although a device is often repairable or usable as a source of spare parts to repair other, similar discarded devices.
* School supplies. At the end of each school year many people throw away perfectly useful supplies like pencils, pens, notebooks and art supplies.
* Electronic waste. Some consumer electronics
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...
are dumped because of their rapid depreciation, obsolescence, cost to repair, or expense to upgrade. Owners of functional computers may find it easier to dump them rather than donate because many nonprofit organizations and schools are unable, or unwilling, to work with used equipment. Occasionally, vendors dispose of unsaleable, non-defective new merchandise as landfill. The Atari video game burial
The Atari video game burial was a mass burial of unsold video game cartridges, consoles, and computers in a New Mexico landfill site, undertaken by the American video game and home computer company Atari, Inc. in 1983. Before 2014, the goods b ...
in Alamogordo, New Mexico
Alamogordo () is the seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was ...
after the video game crash of 1983
The video game crash of 1983 (known as the Atari shock in Japan) was a large-scale recession in the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985, primarily in the United States. The crash was attributed to several factors, including ma ...
is a well-known example; a 2014 excavation recovered about 1300 games for curation as museum exhibits or auction.
* Clothing. While thrift stores routinely refuse used goods which they cannot cheaply and easily resell, the items which they do accept cost them nothing. There is therefore no shrinkage cost associated with discarding mendable garments, repairable appliances or even working donated items which are overstock or find no buyer after some arbitrary length of time.
* Metal. Sometimes waste may contain recyclable metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
s and materials that can be reused or sold to recycling plants and scrap yards. The most common recyclable metals found are steel and aluminum.
* Wood. Called urban lumberjacking, to salvage wood either for home heating, or home construction projects.
* Empty cans and bottles. Several countries, particularly in Northern Europe have enforced a system
A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...
in which empty cans and bottles can be returned to stores for money. Usually the amount received per can/bottle is relatively low, so many simply discard them in dumpsters.
Other sources
* Residential buildings. Clothing, furniture, appliances, and other housewares may be found at residential buildings.
* College dormitories. Items may be found at colleges with dormitories at the end of the semester when students throw away many items such as furniture, clothes and electronics.
Notable instances
In the 1960s, Jerry Schneider
Jerry Neil Schneider (born circa 1951) is a social engineer and security consultant. While still in high school in 1968, Schneider started a company called "Creative Systems Enterprises" (CSE) and began selling his own invented electronic communic ...
, using recovered instruction manuals from The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company, used the company's own procedures to acquire hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...
equipment over several years until his arrest.
The ''Castle Infinity
''Castle Infinity'' was the first commercially launched MMOG for children. It was launched by Starwave Corporation in 1996, and featured personalized avatars, an embedded message system and live chat in a 2D side scrolling game world. It survive ...
'' videogame, after its shutdown in 2005, was brought back from the dead by a fan rescuing its server
Server may refer to:
Computing
*Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients
Role
* Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...
s from the trash.
In October 2013, in North London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, three men were arrested and charged under the 1824 Vagrancy Act when they were caught taking discarded food: tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and cakes from bins behind an Iceland supermarket. The charges were dropped on 29 January 2014 after much public criticism as well as a request by Iceland's chief executive, Malcolm Walker.
In 1996, the source code for the Atari 7800 was discovered in the dumpster of the Atari office when the company closed.
In popular culture
Books
* Author John Hoffman wrote two books based on his own dumpster-diving exploits: ''The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving'' (1993; ) and ''Dumpster Diving: The Advanced Course: How to Turn Other People's Trash into Money, Publicity, and Power'' (2002; ), and was featured in the documentary DVD ''The Ultimate Dive'', which was directed by Suzanne Girot and described by the Internet Movie Database
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
as a "Tongue-in-cheek how-to film on the art and science of dumpster diving."
* In 2001, dumpster diving was popularized in the book ''Evasion
Evasion may refer to:
*''Evade'', a 1960s board game in the 3M bookshelf game series
*''Évadé'', the term given to French and Belgian nationals fleeing German-occupied Europe
*Évasion, a Canadian French-language travel and adventure television ...
,'' published by CrimethInc.
CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells.
*
*
* CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initial ...
* In Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson (born March 23, 1952) is an American writer of science fiction. He has published twenty-two novels and numerous short stories and is best known for his ''Mars'' trilogy. His work has been translated into 24 languages. Many ...
's science fiction novel ''Fifty Degrees Below
''Fifty Degrees Below'' (2005) is the second book in the hard science fiction ''Science in the Capital trilogy, Science in the Capital'' trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson. It directly follows the events of ''Forty Signs of Rain'', with a greater foc ...
'' (2005), the character Frank Vanderwal joins, for a time, a group of freegans (referred to as "fregans" in the novel) who frequently prepare feasts culled from dumpsters; kind-hearted restaurateur
A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspec ...
s aid them by setting aside foods which have not been touched by the public.
* Jeff Ferrell, Professor of Sociology at Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples ...
, is the author of ''Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging'' (2005; ).
* Cory Doctorow integrated garbage picking characters into the plots of his novels ''Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town
''Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town'' is a contemporary fantasy novel by Canadian author Cory Doctorow. It was published in June 2005, concurrently released on the Internet under a Creative Commons license, free for download in sever ...
'' and ''Pirate Cinema
Pirate Cinema is a do-it-yourself cinema. Recently Pirate Cinema has been associated with groups in Brazil, Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne and Helsinki, where local Pirate Cinema groups are associated with the anti-copyright movement and squatting. ...
''.
* David Boarder Gilles'
A Mass Conspiracy to Feed People: Food Not Bombs and the World-class Waste of Global Cities
' (2021) is an ethnography of this global movement of grassroots soup kitchens that recover wasted grocery surpluses and redistribute them to those in need.
Television programs
* British television shows have featured home renovations and decoration using salvaged materials. ''Changing Rooms
''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021.
The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'' (1996-2004) is one such show, broadcast on BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
.
* TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an As ...
's ''Extreme Cheapskates
''Extreme Cheapskates'' is an American reality television series that aired on TLC (TV network), TLC and premiered on October 16, 2012. It documents the lives of those who take frugality to an extreme. TLC aired the series' television pilot, pilo ...
'' and ''Extreme Couponing
''Extreme Couponing'' (renamed ''Extreme Couponing: All-Stars'' for its third season) is an American reality television entertainment series produced by Sharp Entertainment and aired on cable network TLC in the United States and Canada.
History
...
'' featured people who regularly dumpster dive to avoid spending money on different items.
Films
* ''Surfing the Waste: A Musical Documentary About Dumpster Diving'', a film by Paul Aflalo, Sandra Lombardi and Tomoe Yoshihara, with music composed by Alden Penner
Alden Penner (born 12 January 1983) is a Canadian musician and producer best known for his work with the Unicorns, Clues, and for his solo output.
Career
The Unicorns (2000–05)
In December 2000 Penner formed the Unicorns with Nicholas Thorb ...
and Nic Boshart.
* ''Dumpster Wars: Reno's Trash Politics'' (2008)
* ''I Love Trash'' (2007), a 30-minute documentary by David Brown and Greg Mann. OCLC
OCLC, Inc., doing business as OCLC, See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was ...
's WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...
provided a synopsis: "''I Love Trash'' is a documentary about the art of dumpster diving. Starting with an empty apartment, only the clothes they were wearing and a flashlight, David and Greg find everything they might otherwise buy, in trash cans and dumpsters. All their food, clothes, electronics, art materials and entertainment, all out of the trash." Accolades: Skyfest Film and Script Festival, (won 2nd place for Documentary Films); and Lake Michigan Film Competition, (won 3rd place for Documentary films).
* The 2010 documentary film '' Dive!'', a short documentary written and directed by Jeremy Seifert, investigates dumpster diving in the Los Angeles area. ''Dive!'' premiered in October 2009 at the Gig Harbor Film Festival, where it won the Audience Choice Award. It has gone on to win awards at many other film festivals, including Best Documentary at the DC Independent Film Festival
The DC Independent Film Festival (DCIFF) is a film festival in Washington, D.C. Launched in 1999, DCIFF exhibits features, animation, shorts and documentaries from around the world, focusing on cutting-edge ideas, new visions and advances in the c ...
and Best Film at the Dutch Environmental Film Festival.
* ''Spoils: Extraordinary Harvest''. A short film
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
/ mystery film and documentary by Alex Mallis. (2012) Accolades: Official Selection, New Orleans Film Festival. Official Selection, Independent Film Festival of Boston
The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts.
History
The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent ...
. Official Selection, DOC NYC.
* ''The Leftovers: A Documentary about People Who Eat Trash'' (2008), a 28-minute Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
documentary by Michael Cavanagh and Kerstin Übelacker. Mykel Bently, Paul Hood, Krystal Trickey, Nick Gill, and Sofia Arborelius (the latter two were exchange students) joined together for this dumpster diver adventure.
* ''From Dumpster To Dinner Plate'' (2011), an award-winning New Zealand short
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
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* Short (surname)
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documentary directed by Vanessa Hudson. "As the cost of food reaches record highs an underground movement of dumpster divers is rapidly gaining momentum fuelled by consumers who are forced to find creative ways to feed themselves."
See also
References
Further reading
* ''Art and Science of Dumpster Diving'' by John Hoffman;
* ''Dumpster Diving: The Advanced Course'' by John Hoffman (brings dumpster diving into the computer era) Paladin Press 2002;
* ''Evasion
Evasion may refer to:
*''Evade'', a 1960s board game in the 3M bookshelf game series
*''Évadé'', the term given to French and Belgian nationals fleeing German-occupied Europe
*Évasion, a Canadian French-language travel and adventure television ...
,'' (2003), CrimethInc.
CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells.
*
*
* CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initial ...
Far East, an autobiography detailing one anarchist's shoplifting
Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on items ...
- and dumpster-diving-supported travels.
* ''Mongo: Adventures in Trash'' by Ted Botha;
* ''Encyclopedia of Garbage'' by Steve Coffel, William L. Rathje;
*
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dumpster Diving
DIY culture
Hobbies
Informal occupations
Poverty
Waste collection
nn:Søppelsanking