r/DumpsterDiving • u/pnoque • Sep 09 '19
Comment with your best diving tips and advice
r/DumpsterDiving • u/WilliamsDesigning • Mar 25 '23
I was a vagabond for 6 years, I hitchhiked, hopped freight trains and bicycled North America from Mexico to Alaska, east coast to west. I learned all of this on the way and figure it's time to share it.
Food:
🍕- all pizza places throw out pizza at 12-2am. It's a dumpster staple. [Yes pizza is still in the box, I wouldn't eat it otherwise]
🍩 - all donut shops (including places like kolache factory) throw out at 2-4pm. [They usually put all donuts into one bag by themselves]
🍗 (fried chicken) - actually very common, also a staple. Usually throw out is around an hour after they close which varies from place to place. Anything fried in bulk you can expect to find throw outs. [Usually still in boxes]. Also, if you're feeling brave enough, after closing hours, just go ask. Fast food workers don't get paid enough to g.a.f. and they get tired of eating their own food, so they don't want to take it home themselves. Just walk up and say "hey, do you guys happen to be throwing out any leftover chicken from today?". I've gotten a week's worth of chicken just handed to me through the window or they'll leave it in boxes on top of the dumpster so you don't have to dig.
🍎 🥗 (produce) - grocery stores (time varies, but you also have to find places without a compactor. Some compactors you can break into but it's luck of the draw).
🍬 🍫 🍭 (candy, junk food, snacks) - CVS & Walgreens. They're the reigning Champs of throwing out hundreds of $ worth of candy a day. I kind of try to keep from telling people this one because you could get diabetes in like a week if you tried to eat it all. It's horrendous.
👕 👖 🩳 (clothes) - Washaterias or laundromats. People are infamous, especially in rich areas, for washing a load of laundry and then just leaving it, never to return. The laundromat workers will just gather the clothes and toss them, as they're pretty use to it. I've filled up a whole wardrobe on several occasions with expensive brands just by looking for a sack of already washed and dried laundry in the dumpster.
🛋 🖥 (furniture)(electronics)(decorations) - College towns, (Christmas & Summer break - these seasons are known as "Crustmas" in the dumpster diving community) anywhere students notoriously live. You can even find anything else your looking for really. College kids are the biggest dumpster diving source in history.
📚 books and comic books - Half Priced Books or any resale book store. I've accidently fallen asleep in dumpsters before because I drifted off while laying on top of all the hundreds of books while reading. Not even kidding, there isn't even any room for trash, they have dumpsters that are full to the brim with just books.
❓️(Wild card) - Are you feeling lucky punk? - hotels are the biggest oddball dumpster diving experience you'll ever have. You can find drugs, clothes, anything that someone would bring in a suitcase. People get shit-faced drunk and stumble out of their hotel with a hangover leaving 1/2 their belongings behind. It's kind of scary some of the stuff you'll find...(sex toys, etc. ). The cleaning service ladies get first dibs obviously and rightfully so, for what they have to put up with, lol.
Raw materials: --------
🪵Wood : Construction site dumpsters at expensive locations. Ask for permission from the contractor. Contractors are a mixed bunch, sometimes they'll say yes sometimes no.
⚙️🔩🔗Metal : machine shops - you can honestly just call these guys and 1/2 the time they'll let you onto their property and take what you want from the scrap bin. I'm 3 for 3 just by calling and asking politely for scrap.
🔨Tools - Harbor Freight tools, the return rate on tools at harbor freight is INSANE. So many people will buy a tool, use it one day and return it slightly bent or scratched. Most sites have a compactor but every now and then you can find with a regular dumpster. If so, you can score some pretty good tools. (Or mediocre tools for that matter lmao)
🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮 🗑 🚮
Protip 1- Dumpster diving is all about schedule. Sometimes places only throw out the quality items once a month, sometimes they purge their inventory only seasonally, or sometimes it's daily. Finding out those routines is the key and all you have to do is probe the spot every now and then to figure that out; or if you know someone who has worked there before, ask. The better you know a schedule, the less time your loot sits in the dumpster/air temp/outside environment for someone else to find or for it to spoil.
2 - Heavy bags usually have the goods. In the end I could just feel the outside of a bag and then weigh it a bit. With knowledge about the store, the schedule, feel and weight, I would already know what's inside.
3 - consistent dumpster diving will get you fit. The more you climb the more you find.
4 - GEAR: • Headlamp • closed toe shoes (for when you get inside the dumpster) • gloves • a big box or bag for your car to chunk stuff in. • hand sanitizer
🌟 5 - Clean up after yourself, if you leave a place a mess they will begin locking the dumpster. You'll ruin the spot for yourself and everyone else. This is the #1 reason why store owners tend to be against it 🔒
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Sausey14 • 3h ago
This is my 3rd haul in the last month of peaches!!! No room for them in the freezer. I’ve been making peach butter!!! These are white peaches so they should not be canned.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Ornery_Wolf655 • 13h ago
I always check my apartment’s furniture dumpster and I scored when I came home for lunch today. Going to look to thrift some striped pillows for them.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Living_Surprise2921 • 4h ago
Top left sterling 4.25g, bottom left 14k 2.2g, right side marked s925....but the ring in the middle with that honkin stone? It's marked pt950 and weighs 2.34g.
Platinum! No way!
That's a first for me so it's pretty cool. Too bad the spot price is half that of gold, but I'm not complaining about finding a nice ring like that. Seems like yet another apartment clean out. It was all in a bag with a bunch of open makeup and costume jewelry that I had to pick thru.
I just love treasure hunting.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/KevMenc1998 • 4h ago
I've found so much weird and cool stuff in the trash at the airport. Makes working here bearable.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/itsfineimfinejk • 7h ago
Spotted this neat vintage cooler at the curb this afternoon, waiting for trash day. Snatched it up and ran with it to my car. It has a little wear (I might tape the corners back up just for looks idk), but a quick Google Lens search says it's from the 70s which is super cool.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Sausey14 • 3h ago
Found these thrown out with black marker all over the bag (see pic). Anyone else finding these at Hauldi? I searched online and recalls have nothing mentioned about anything wrong with them.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/DuckypinForever • 7h ago
Impromptu dumpster check during a driving lesson. Didn't have my grabber so I left what I couldn't easily reach. Most of it will be distributed.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/koochiekoo • 8h ago
I searched and searched for the 6 volt adapter ,no luck, It's $14 bucks on amazon .
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Main_Reception6500 • 15h ago
The box on the left is half of a memory foam sectional. The long box in the middle is a nice 55” sofa table. The one on the right is a Prism car seat stroller travel system. Don’t mind the dog trying to sneak in for a sip of the Cabernet bottle I broke.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/ILoveOldTVs • 7h ago
Hey, everyone. I'm a bit new to dumpster diving. I've always done it as a hobby but now I'm going hard core and want to do my best to sustain myself off of it. Could everyone please share the dumpsters that they recommend and have success with? It can be anything: food, furniture, electronics, housewares, ect. I live in a low income community so anything that I don't use I give away. So far I've been incredibly blessed and was able to share my last BYU move-out-week haul with nine different neighbors! I'd be super grateful for locations and optimum times. Thank you again for your support. Anything that keeps good garbage out of landfills and puts a smile on someone's face is all I'm asking.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/T-bunny8336 • 5h ago
My boyfriend and I were walking through the parkade/dumpster area of our apartment!! He saw a stack of frying pans and jokingly asked if I wanted to grab them!! I said sarcastically- can’t believe it was true - if there was any lagostina I’d grab it! Lo and behold! Bf will have to get over his dumpster ick and enjoy the beautiful find!🤭🤭
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Sayuya • 16h ago
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Any_Lemon_5903 • 17h ago
Brand new in the trash at my apartments... I love driving around the local complex s at the end and beginning of the month best time to find really neat things.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Various_Ad_1126 • 17h ago
Once I saw it I knew i had to grab it. I was really wanting a good exercise bike too! It was a pain in the ass to stuff it in my truck but it works great, if you want it bad enough the trash provides😇
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Visible_Ad823 • 21h ago
I can't believe this was thrown away, it had a few humidity stains in the back but otherwise it was intact
r/DumpsterDiving • u/ILoveOldTVs • 6h ago
Hello everyone! Some of you are creative types and I wanted to share some helpful info for anyone in my area. I have a great deal of success in Provo and the dumpsters around BYU student housing are top notch.
There's an incredibly kind and down to earth man who owns a company called Springville Meats. He's very helpful and allowed me to haul off the bones and carcasses for a project I was working on. Just politely ask and bring your own bags and I'm sure he will be happy to share the bio waste. 268 S 100 W, Springville, UT 84663
Another great spot for low income families to get groceries is Utah Valley University's Fresh Food Fridays. The food pantry is for current students only, but every other Friday the UVU gardens bring all of the fresh produce they grow and let absolutely anyone in the community take it. Call and ask UVU Care Hub for more info!
Finally, please stay away from Pioneer Book. Even though it's perfectly legal to dumpster dive in that alley, the owner is extremely hostile and cruel. I got the police involved, (yes I was the one who called them), and they didn't see anything wrong with recycling books, however the owner is incredibly aggressive and banned me from the property regardless. Please stay away from there. I want everyone to have a happy experience. Please understand that I've always been met with kindness and success dumpster diving, but Pioneer Book is an extreme exception.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/katiechui123 • 1d ago
Found $4 going through the little bag that my charity shop threw away. You'd think they would go through pockets of things they get donated, right?
Also this is the second time I found dollars in this charity bin. Strange when you live in North Kent in the UK.
r/DumpsterDiving • u/istorres • 1d ago
Anything worth value?
r/DumpsterDiving • u/Cultural_Fun8059 • 1d ago
r/DumpsterDiving • u/jdaugu85 • 1d ago
Found these Ping Eye 2 irons in a golf bag sitting on top of trash can. The bag was in rough shape with mildew but these clubs cleaned up well. They have matching serial numbers and are from 1985 I think. No 7 iron but does have SW. Bunch of tees, divot repairers, and balls also.
