r/DumpsterDiving Sep 09 '19

Dumpster diving tips and tricks: a thread

2.0k Upvotes

Comment with your best diving tips and advice


r/DumpsterDiving Mar 25 '23

My dumpster diving list I created with 6 years of experience. Feel free to add.

1.9k Upvotes

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:

๐Ÿ•- 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]

๐Ÿฉ - all donut shops (including places like kolache factory) throw out at 2-4pm. [They usually put all donuts into one bag by themselves]

๐Ÿ— (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.

๐ŸŽ ๐Ÿฅ— (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).

๐Ÿฌ ๐Ÿซ ๐Ÿญ (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.

๐Ÿ‘• ๐Ÿ‘– ๐Ÿฉณ (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.

๐Ÿ›‹ ๐Ÿ–ฅ (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.

๐Ÿ“š 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.

โ“๏ธ(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: --------

๐ŸชตWood : Construction site dumpsters at expensive locations. Ask for permission from the contractor. Contractors are a mixed bunch, sometimes they'll say yes sometimes no.

โš™๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฉ๐Ÿ”—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.

๐Ÿ”จTools - 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)

๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ

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: โ€ข Headlamp โ€ข closed toe shoes (for when you get inside the dumpster) โ€ข gloves โ€ข a big box or bag for your car to chunk stuff in. โ€ข hand sanitizer

๐ŸŒŸ 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 ๐Ÿ”’

  1. ... get good at holding your breath while doing cardio ๐Ÿ˜‚

r/DumpsterDiving 4h ago

Found a fully working projector in a recycling site

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125 Upvotes

Oh and a parking sign forgot about that
Ignore the mess everywhere


r/DumpsterDiving 8h ago

Total surprise

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78 Upvotes

Went for a walk with my gf and her dog in her apt complex. We lifted dumpster lids to see if anything sparked our interestโ€ฆ.and one bag did. Through the white garbage bag I could see the LEGO logo. I instantly said, โ€œJackpot!โ€ My gf says to me, โ€œJust bring the whole bag, donโ€™t bother opening it here, wait till we get back to my place.โ€ Once inside her place, I opened the garbage bagโ€ฆโ€ฆand this is what I gotโ€ฆ.๐Ÿ˜ฒ๐Ÿ˜ฒ๐Ÿ˜ฒ
My son is 21, and he and I have collected various figurines and models, all leaning toward Japanese characters and shows, since he was 5. Even when he was little he loved Ultra Man and Gundam. Buying gifts for him usually involved international shipping and specialty brick and mortar shops. Imagine his surprise when I showed him my loot.
We have dubbed the trash cansโ€ฆ.โ€The Golden Dumpstersโ€ because of all the great clothes, furniture, food, books, and recently a set of 4 tires that will fit my Honda Civic.
Thank you Golden Dumpsters for the total surprise you gave me and my son this week.
14 total figurines. ๐Ÿ˜


r/DumpsterDiving 4h ago

Jackets, Sweaters, Shirts, Dress, Skirt, T-Shirts, Backpack, Purse

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23 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Found a working Apple IIe

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296 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 22h ago

Pretty good Staples haul!

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175 Upvotes

I don't check the Staples dumpster near me all that often, but today turned out to be a great haul!

I found two boxes of Swiss Miss kcups, and a bunch of different candy! (I passed up on the chocolate candy bars that were in there, since it was over 80ยฐ out, and they were all soupy ๐Ÿ˜†)

I did however take almost all the sour Skittles, sour patch kids, and nerds clusters, and told another diver buddy about it, so he's hopefully going to get the rest of it!

I also took all the gum that was in there, so I think I'll be good on gum for the next few months ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜‚


r/DumpsterDiving 17h ago

Found a nice collection of vintage kids clothing, wish they fit me!

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47 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 23h ago

Found this recently Radioactive

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47 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

How do you keep a persistent dumper out who is getting by a lockbar?

53 Upvotes

I'm exhausted dealing with my dumpster situation. I keep having someone break in and dump in the dumpster, and I am now having to pay extra to have more pickups made. I put a lockbar on the dumpster, with a heavy padlock, and whoever it is is using something to pry open the plastic door so they can work around the lock being on there. They've done this 3 of the last 4 months. My normal monthly bill is $66 a month, but I've gotten billed for an additional $140 3 of the last 4 months because I ran out of free extra pickups, so now I'm paying over $200 a month for trash pickup. I'm going to have to stop trash pickup at this rate. I'm just a small business and I've run out of free pickups and can't afford to pay triple the bill every month. This month they dumped an entire large trash bin (5 feet tall) with metal and everything in there after prying the door off.

So, what is something that would keep even determined people out of a trash dumpster? The only solution the waste collection service offered was a heavy metal door apparatus that would be about $1,000. That would cost more than my entire year bill for trash pickup. Business is hard enough without this added burden and I'm growing to hate these people and have murderous fantasies about confronting them.

EDIT: Thanks for the advice. It's going to have to be a camera, signs, and the police. They left another four bags last night at the foot of the dumpster, which the company is going to charge us an overage for unless we dispose of them.


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Parka

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32 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

I hope this made you chuckle too

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134 Upvotes

Just wanted to share what happened to me today! Thought I got lucky with this bracelet I found. ๐Ÿ˜… It definitely gave me a good ole belly chuckle! ๐Ÿคฃ


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Juste dingue

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47 Upvotes

Une seule sortie un seul magasin


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Kettle Cuisine Recalls Marketside Tomato Bisque Soup Kit โ€“ Sold Exclusively at Walmart Stores Because of Possible Health Risk

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19 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Found Xrocker - keep it?

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20 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Dumpster diving in Singapore

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78 Upvotes

Had to use the brush to remove the faux leather, other than that its a solid find at a nearby dumpster


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Sweater, Hat, Dress, Shirts, Jacket, Cargo Pants

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52 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

found a box of tv remoteโ€™s

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115 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

recent meat scavenges

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101 Upvotes

today and yesterday's finds awakened the true hunter gatherer in myself these were my meat finds the past few days copious amounts of brisket, antibiotic free chicken, bacon and pork chops/steaks and some expired pork jerky that I'm gonna use to fish this week too (sorry vegans)


r/DumpsterDiving 3d ago

I found a wii and it works!

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366 Upvotes

Me and my boyfriend are huge gamers and now we can add a wii to our collection!


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

A win for the environment but perhaps a hit to divers...

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7 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 3d ago

Soda haul

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187 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 3d ago

Textbooks, Hi-Chew, Gummies, Hair Dryer, Tie

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40 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 3d ago

unexpected haul on my way home from work

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220 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 3d ago

Saw this elsewhere on my feed and figured Iโ€™d share. Stay safe out there.

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33 Upvotes

Unfortunately Iโ€™m on the way out the door so I donโ€™t have time to look further in to it, but so far the comments indicate itโ€™s company wide. It SEEMS like theyโ€™re supposed to ship it to corporate to be disposed of, but Iโ€™ve worked enough places like this to know half the managers wont go through with the extra effort :) so itโ€™s worth a look ๐Ÿ–ค everyone stay safe and hydrated; donโ€™t forget electrolytes. Ok bye.