Dumpster Diving How-To's

Dumpster Diving (also known as skip diving in some European countries) has become a popular activity over the last few years due to the ever worsening United States economy. Dumpster diving is an actiivity that involves retrieving trash from dumpsters, trash cans, or curbside in front of residences. While every dumpster diver is looking for different items, the goal of this activity is to find food, household items, clothes, or whatever is thrown away but still useable. Check your state and local laws to make sure you are not breaking the law with dumpster diving. For example, dumpster diving may violate trespassing laws if there is a "no trespassing" sign. On the other hand, trash taken from a curb is most likely legal.

Dumpster diving is easy and doesn't require a lot of effort. You won't need many tools depending upon what kind of diving you are doing.

In general, you may want to bring the following items with you:

Flashlight
Pole or Stick to help open/dig through bags
A trashbag or duffle bag to help carry your treasures
Gloves to protect your hands

The best way to dumpster dive is to find a dumpster you believe has something you want inside. Find something nearby, such as a crate and stand on top of it to peek inside the dumpster. Use a stick to help hold the dumpster open. With your gloves on, rummuge through the refuse and see what you find. As a safety precaution, put something in front of the dumpster so people don't dump more trash on top of you.

If you are diving for food, beware of meats or items that spoil easy. Also beware of dumpsters that may contain medical waste or other hazardous materials.

Another method of dumpster diving, that doesn't involve diving in dumpsters is picking up items curbside. A good way to do this is to fogure out the trash pickup day for a specific area and drive or walk around the area looking for items you may want to rescue. For example, the craigslist.org website has a free section. Many individuals list "curb alerts" meaning they put free items out at the curb. Anyone is free to take them. It is less of a hassle than jumping in a dumpster and you can still find useful items.

On www.wordpress.com, the author of the Recycling Curbside blog (http://recyclingcurbside.wordpress.com/) describes her days of dumpster diving with family.

The initial thought of dumpster diving may sound repulsive and unappealing. While some people are forced to do it out of necesity and others do it for pure pleasure, there is sure to be something for everyone. Before you decide aganist it, give it a try. It's free and easy.