Dumpster diving
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2008-07-02T21:58:04Z
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/* Notable diving events */
[[Image:Man rummaging thought a skip.jpg|thumb|300px|A man rummaging through a [[skip (container)|skip]] at the back of an [[office]] building in [[Central London]]]]
'''Dumpster diving''' is the practice of sifting through commercial or residential [[Waste|trash]] to find items that have been discarded by their owners, but which may be useful to the [[Dumpster (term)|Dumpster]] diver. The practice of Dumpster diving is also known variously as ''urban foraging, binning, alley surfing, Curbing, D-mart, Dumpstering, garbaging, garbage picking, garbage gleaning, skip-raiding, skip diving, skipping, skip-weaseling, tatting, skally-wagging'' or ''trashing''.
Another use of the term is as a "sport" mostly practiced by youngsters who directly dive into the dumpsters, often filming it to show others who dares the best dives, as one could do at the beach or pool when diving into water. It carries the risk of injury on broken glass or other dangerous or disgusting objects.
The term originates from the best-known manufacturer of commercial [[Dustbin|trash bins]], "[[Dumpster (brand)|Dumpster]]," and the fanciful image of someone leaping head first into a dumpster as if it were a swimming pool. In practice, the size and design of most dumpsters makes it possible to retrieve many items from the outside of dumpsters without having to "dive" inside.
In rural areas and some ancient agricultural societies, a similar process was known as [[gleaning]] and some [[medieval]] houses had "poor boxes" where still edible food was placed for the poor to take.{{Fact|date=June 2007}}
== Background ==
Traditionally, most people who resort to dumpster-diving are forced to do so out of economic necessity. The [[karung guni]], the [[rag and bone man]], [[waste picker]], [[dumpster monkey]], [[junk man]] or [[bin hoker]] are people who make their living by sorting and trading trash.
Others may practice dumpster diving for various economic and personal reasons. For example, practitioners of [[freeganism]] dumpster dive to avoid living a materialistic consumer lifestyle. Artists like [[Carol Tanzi]] and [[Vincent Jones]] use discarded materials to create artistic works.<ref>[http://www.goddessofgarbage.com Goddess of Garbage, Carol A. Tanzi<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Students may use salvaged high tech items in technical projects. Still others may dumpster dive just to indulge in their curiosity for unusual items.<ref>{{citation|title = Dumpster Diving|first = Cyndeth|last = Allison|newspaper = North Denver News|date = 8 May 2007|url = http://northdenvernews.com/content/view/766/2/}}</ref>.
Dumpster diving, taken to an academic level, is used as a tool for [[garbology|garbologist]]s, who study the [[sociology]] and [[archeology]] of trash in modern life. There is a major outpost of academic garbology at the [[University of Arizona]], directed for some decades by [[William Rathje]]. Others, because of their profession, maybe required to dumpster dive, such as private investigators or police seeking information and material for official purposes. In practice, dumpster diving can range from a one time spontaneous seeing and retrieving of a useful item from the garbage, to an individual's preferred [[Simple living|low-impact]] lifestyle, to a full time livelihood when economic opportunities are not available.
[[Image:Supermarket dumpster.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Supermarkets throw away large amounts of unsold food products.]]
There are several ethical arguments used to justify dumpster diving. One is, by [[Reuse|reusing]] resources destined for the [[landfill]], dumpster diving becomes a [[Environmentalism|green]] endeavor (and is thus being practiced by many [[freeganist]] communities). Others believe that the wastefulness of a consumer society and its throw away mentality requires individuals to rescue usable items (e.g. computers) from destruction and diverting them to the less fortunate. Some see it as a way of making money or getting valuable goods. Another belief is, since many poorer people cannot afford to buy many items at market price, that any irregular, blemished, or damaged items that are still functional should naturally be priced closer to their ability to pay. To simply dispose of these imperfect items is looked on by the poor as being economically inefficient, economically insensitive, and a hindrance to their ability to acquire goods that most people can afford. An example is discarded food that might have slight imperfections, that is near its [[shelf life|expiration date]], or that is simply being replaced by newer stock. Many retailers are reluctant to sell this stock at reduced prices due to the belief that people will buy it instead of the higher priced newer stock; that extra handling time is required; and that there are liability risks.
== Items commonly found ==
Dumpster diving is practiced differently in countries whose commercial disposal practices are different from the developed world. In many economically developing countries, food is rarely thrown away unless it is rotten. In many countries, charities collect excess food from supermarkets and restaurants and distribute it to the needy. Dumpster divers, [[Karung guni]], and [[Rag and bone man|rag and bone men]] in these countries may concentrate on looking for usable items or scrap materials to sell.
In the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Europe]], some [[baker]]ies, [[Supermarket|grocery stores]], or restaurants will routinely donate food according to a [[Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act|Good Samaritan Food Donation Act]], but more often, because of health laws or company policy, they are required to discard food items by the [[shelf life|expiration date]], because of overstock, being overly ripened, spoiled, cosmetically imperfect, or blemished. If disposed of "as is" and not destroyed, some of this food may be made "safer" for consumption if properly decontaminated and spoiled ruminates are removed. Otherwise, it is quite possible food poisoning will result eating dumpster food, especially if it not cooked/recooked afterwards.
[[Office]]s, [[factory|factories]], [[department store]]s, and other commercial establishments also may throw out nonperishable items that are irregular, were returned, have minor damages, or are replaced by newer inventory. Generally, the more perishable and inexpensive the item, the more likely that it will be disposed of intact. Otherwise, most items tend to be in such a state of disrepair or cosmetically flawed that will require some work by the dumpster diver to make the items functionally usable. A general tenet found among seasoned Dumpster Divers is to avoid returning items (for money/exchange) through the front door that were tossed out the back door. Stores who even suspect this has happened will take steps to insure it ceases, thus ruining future diving.
Residential buildings tend to throw away very little usable food or "new" items that could not be sold, but sometimes are a good source of used clothing, furniture, appliances, and other housewares. Because some people find it easier to dispose of an item rather than donating or recycling, the dumpster diver tends to be the only reprieve for items being buried in [[landfill]].
Many consumer electronics, particularly computers, are dumped because of their rapid depreciation, obsolescence, cost to repair, or expense to upgrade. Frequently, owners of functional computers find it easier to dump computers rather than donate because many non-profits and schools are unable or unwilling to work with used equipment.<ref>{{citation|year = 2003|date = 6 November 2003|last = Ha|first = Tanya|title = E-waste|url = http://abc.net.au/science/features/ewaste|accessdate = 2007-06-11}}</ref> Some organizations like [[Geeks Into The Streets]], [[reBOOT]], [[Free Geek]] and [[Computerbank]] try to [[computer recycling|refurbish old computers]] for charity or educational use. Dumpster divers who find computers tend to strip them for parts and metals then discard the rest.<ref>{{citation|title = Dumspter Diving|year = 1997|date = September 1997|first = Cory|last = Doctorow|newspaper = Wired|url = http://wired.com/wired/archive/5.09/es_dumpster_pr.html}}</ref>
Another activity associated with dumpster diving is recycling collection. People often go through dumpsters and other trash containers looking for [[Aluminum can|cans]] or other recyclable materials. In some places these can be sold to [[Recycling|recycling plants]] or scrap yards. Recycling is also possible with other materials such as [[copper]], [[lead]], and other [[scrap metal]]s but they are far less common than aluminum and steel. Because dumpsters are not a reliable source of scrap metal for dumpster divers, some "proactive recyclers" may resort to stripping buildings and other installations of their valuable metals like brass fixtures, copper roofing, pipes, and wiring. This kind of scavenging has been reported in the [http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/sep/07/high-copper-prices-spurs-more-thievery/ United States], the [http://in.news.yahoo.com/050821/43/5zskj.html former Soviet Union], [http://www.recyclingtoday.com/News/news.asp?Id=8053 Argentina], and others when either scrap prices or unemployment rates soar. This kind of activity is damaging, and can create unexpected effects, such as a very large fire in [[Brooklyn]] waterfront warehouses in May of 2006. Authorities and scrap yards are increasingly requiring more proof of ownership and traceability.
== Information diving ==
{{main|Information diving}}
All too often, dumpsters can be an inadvertent source of information. Unwanted files, letters, memos, photographs, IDs, and other paperwork have been found in dumpsters. This oversight is a result of many people not realizing that sensitive items like [[password]]s, [[credit card]] numbers, and personal information they throw in the trash could be recovered anywhere from the dumpster to the landfill. This recovered information is sometimes used by criminals for [[fraud]]ulent purposes, such as [[identity theft]] and the breaking of [[physical information security]]. Information to most Dumpster Drivers is unusable and if the items found are unusual (stolen wallets/purses) sometimes these items are turned over to the Police or their owners.
Targeted information diving was more common in the 1980s due to lax security. When businesses became aware of the need for increased security in the early 1990s, it became routine for sensitive documents to be [[Paper shredder|shredded]] before being placed in dumpsters. Security mythology still portrays the stereotypical lone [[hacker (computer security)|hacker]]s or malicious [[black hat|cracker]]s commonly searching through office waste, but this may be more of an [[urban legend]] because [[social engineering (computer security)|social engineering]] is often easier, more productive, and is a more predictable source than dumpsters.
Experienced information diving is commonly practised by [[Consumer protection|watchdog]] and [[news]] organizations seeking information on groups they are investigating. The [[Trinity Foundation (Dallas)|Trinity Foundation]] successfully used this technique to report on the activities of [[televangelist]] [[Robert Tilton]], and has also obtained information on [[Benny Hinn]] using this practice.
== Legal status ==
Because dumpsters are usually located on private premises, dumpster diving is illegal in some parts of the United States, though the law is enforced with varying degrees of rigor. The ''[[California v. Greenwood]]'' case in the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that there is no [[common law]] [[expectation of privacy]] for [[post-consumer waste|discarded materials]]. Dumpster diving ''per se'' is probably legal when not specifically prohibited by state or local law.
[[Police]] (and possibly other) searches of dumpsters and like discards are not violations; [[Evidence (law)|evidence]] [[Search and seizure|seized]] in this way has been permitted in many [[criminal procedure|criminal trials]]. The doctrine is less well established in regard to [[civil litigation]]. Similarly in the [[United Kingdom]], while dumpster diving in [[England]] and [[Wales]] may qualify as theft within the [[Theft Act 1968]] or as common-law theft in [[Scotland]] there is very little enforcement in practice.
[[Private investigator]]s have written books on "[[P.I. technique]]" in which dumpster diving or its equivalent "[[wastebasket recovery]]," figures prominently.
Companies run by private investigators specializing in dumpster diving have sprung up around the country as a result of the need for discreet, undetected retrieval of documents and evidence for civil and criminal trials.
In [[Italy]], a law issued in 2000 declared dumpster diving to be legal.
In [[Sweden]], the contents of a dumpster is the property of the owner of the dumpster so taking items from a dumpster is technically theft.
In [[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 on return. A recent case involved a police officer who retrieved a discarded weapon from trash as evidence; the Judge ruled it as legal without a warrant, so some have speculated this is enough backing for anyone to raid garbage.
There are limits to what can legally be taken from a company's refuse. In a 1983 [[Minnesota]] case involving the theft of customer lists from a garbage can, ''[[Tennant Company v. Advance Machine Company]]'',<ref>355 N.W.2d 720</ref> the owner of the discarded information was awarded [[USD|$]]500,000 in damages.
== Socioeconomics ==
Because some dumpster divers may be people who are nearer to the [[poverty level]] than individuals who don't dumpster dive, there are economic traits that they hold in common. The main trait is adapting to [[scarcity]] and unpredictability of obtaining items that are easily obtained if one has a higher income. The production model that best describes the diver's economic lifestyle is [[just in case]] manufacturing. Just in case, states that when the lack of money to buy an item or the shortage of an item is expected in the future, then it is best to have several of these items in storage, "just in case". The ability of divers to obtain many items at the time it is needed (see [[Just In Time (business)|Just In Time]]), often is expensive to divers because most items available "just in time" are found in stores at full price. This ultimately means that divers want to hold on to many items that most "just in time" people either throw away or buy as needed. Such items as consumer electronics, refrigerators, cars, tires, and computers, that are expensive to replace or repair immediately, may be kept by the diver in greater numbers to insure that a working supply is available, just in case an equipment failure occurs. Taken to the extreme, some dumpster divers cluttered properties may run afoul of a city's [[Code Enforcement]] resulting in fines and forced abatement<ref>http://www.wftv.com/video/9751225/detail.html</ref><ref>http://www.wesh.com/news/9534434/detail.html</ref>. The result of such legal actions may actually cause additional hardships on people if they are poor or borderline [[Homelessness| homeless]]. According to the [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2002539964_healthhoarding05m.html City of Seattle], 1:300 people who tend to [[Hoarding| hoard]], may also suffer in some degree from [[obsessive-compulsive personality disorder]]. It is also believed that this illness is aggravated by [[poverty]] in some cases.
== Notable diving events ==
*In the 1960s, [[Jerry Schneider]], using recovered [[instruction manual]]s from [[The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company]], abused the company's own procedures to acquire hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of [[telephone]] equipment over several years until his arrest.
*The [[Castle Infinity]] game, after its shutdown, was brought back from the dead by rescuing its [[Server (computing)|server]]s from the trash.
*In 2001, dumpster diving was popularized in the book ''[[Evasion (book)|Evasion]],'' published by [[CrimethInc.]]
*[[Food Not Bombs]] is an anti-hunger organization that gets a significant amount of its food from dumpster diving from the dumpsters at small markets and corporate grocery stores in the US and UK.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/15/AR2006081501248_pf.html</ref>
*December 6, 1983 – Juarez Mexico, A local resident salvaged a discarded radiation therapy machine carrying [[Cobalt-60]]. This in turn contaminated another 5,000 metric tons of steel, some of which was sent to the U.S. and Canada.
* September 13, 1987 – In the [[Goiânia accident]], scavengers broke open a radiation-therapy machine and sold [[caesium-137]] source as a glowing curiosity. Four hundred were contaminated, four died.
* March 18, 2000, 55 Oscars reported stolen were found in a Los Angeles dumpster behind a grocery store. The salvage man, Willie Fulgear, 61, received a $50,000 reward and two tickets to the Oscars. Later, his reward money was stolen from a safe in his apartment.
*In an interview in the [[May 29]], [[2006]] issue of ''[[Newsweek]],'' [[Meetup.com]] founder [[Scott Heiferman]] was asked, "What's the weirdest meetup that's ever come to your attention?" He replied, "Dumpster-diving meetups are very popular...."
* [[Charles Manson]] wrote and recorded a song entitled "Garbage Dump" which dealt with dumpster diving. It appears on his album ''[[Lie: The Love & Terror Cult]]''.
[[British television]] shows have even featured home renovations and decoration using salvaged materials. ''[[Changing Rooms (TV show)|Changing Rooms]]'' is one such show, broadcast on [[BBC One]]. Recovery of still-useful items from discards is well-known in other cultures as well; [[James Fallows]] noted it in his book written about his time living in [[Japan]]. However, much of the richness attributed to dumpster diving in Japan ended with the collapse of the nation's [[Japanese asset price bubble|economic bubble]] in 1990. In the U.K ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'' and the U.S remake ''[[Sanford and Son]]'' showed the life of a junk man. This was also the name of a song from a Staten Island band named Pseudohoodlum.
== See also ==
*[[Freeganism]]
*[[Vermiculture]]
*[[composting]]
*[[Food Not Bombs]]
*[[Food rescue]]
*[[Gleaning]]
*[[DIY ethic]]
*[[DIY culture]]
*[[Social engineering (security)]]
*[[Benjamin Pell]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
* ''[http://web.textfiles.com/hacking/dumpster_diving.txt Dumpster Diving - One Man's Trash]'' by Grifter; originally given as a presentation at a [[2600: The Hacker Quarterly|2600]] meeting in [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]]. Later published in the [http://store.2600.com/summer2002.html Summer 2002] issue of [[2600: The Hacker Quarterly|2600 Magazine]]
* ''Art and Science of Dumpster Diving'' by John Hoffman; ISBN 1-55950-088-3
* ''Travels with Lizbeth'' by [[Lars Eighner]] (contains a chapter on the topic); ISBN 0-449-90943-3
* ''Dumpster Diving: The Advanced Course'' by John Hoffman (brings dumpster diving into the computer era) [[Paladin Press]] 2002; ISBN 1-58160-369-X
* ''The Simple Life,'' Berkeley Press (contains a chapter by Hoffman on dumpster diving)
* ''[[Steal This Book]]!'' by [[Abbie Hoffman]] (speaks briefly on dumpster diving in the Free Food chapter)
* ''[[Evasion (book)|Evasion,]]'' [[CrimethInc.]] Far East, an autobiography detailing one anarchist's [[shoplifting]]- and dumpster-diving-supported travels
* ''Mongo: Adventures in Trash'' by Ted Botha; ISBN 1-58234-452-3
* ''Encyclopedia of Garbage'' by Steve Coffel, William L. Rathje; ISBN 0-8160-3135-5
== External links ==
* [http://members.aol.com/TheDumpsterLady/thedumpsterlady.htm The Dumpster Lady's FAQ]
* [http://www.bladediary.com/index.pl?stencil=162 Dumpster Diving Symbols]
* [http://freegan.info/ Freeganism and info on dumpster diving]
* [http://www.emoware.org/dumpster-diving/ A Dumpster Diving Blog & Guide]
* [http://mydumpsterdive.blogspot.com/ My Dumpster Diving Adventures!]
* [http://www.buffalobeast.com/63/litter.htm Article- "Pick of the Litter: climbing to the top of the heap with an ambitious bottom-feeder"]
* [http://www.mookychick.co.uk/lists/dumpster_diving.php Guide to dumpster diving]
[[Category:Waste collection]]
[[Category:Hobbies]]
[[Category:Poverty]]
[[Category:DIY culture]]
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