thekismeme
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posted on January 9, 2001 05:37:16 PM
I keep seeing references to dumster diving.......do you guys really do this? What kind of things do you find? Where are the best places to do this?
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georgeviscomi
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posted on January 9, 2001 05:54:35 PM
It all depends on what you are looking for. For example, if you are hungrey you would look behind a nice italian restaurant.Once I found a sheet of lasagna not even touched.
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sharkbaby
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posted on January 9, 2001 05:58:03 PM
Darn! My dive gear is in the shop!
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MAH645
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:09:05 PM
Make sure you dive in and dive out before a cop shows up!
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cajunatpassmore
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:11:17 PM
I don't do this but my sister-in-law does. She has what she calls her garbage run night, and I'm not joking. She lives in the New Orleans area and when the people there put their trash out at night, she drives up and down the street looking for stuff. She goes to apartment complexes and looks around the dumpster. She has found many things this way and sells them. She claims the best is when someone has died and the family comes in throwing out things, that she can always find some real treasures.
Now whenever my mother-in-law sends us something I always ask if it's from her or the sister-in-law. It's a joke in our family, but something she is very serious about and does it every week without fail.
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MAH645
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:21:10 PM
My Sister-in-Law is the Queen of Dumpster Divers,she can raid more dumpsters in one night that the city can pick up garbage!I have to lock my vehicle when I go to see her or she has my van so full of trash treasures I can't get back in it.She wants me to come to Florida now for a pack-rat special.
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figmente
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:43:49 PM
no,
nothing,
in the dumpster (of course). 
One man's trash is another's treasure can be very true.
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mrjoker
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:45:50 PM
i actually saw some guy take a broken fan that i had thrown out five minutes earlier in an apartment complex i used to live in. that guy lived in the same complex. the scary thing is that they find your trash, but they are also going through all the private stuff like old bills, account numbers, and the like.
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CAgrrl
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:51:10 PM
I don't know about where you guys live, but I think everyone in the greater LA area knows to shred any papers with account #'s or personal info. None of us are safe from dumpster divers- the bums here all recycle our soda cans and the like. Yes, one man's trash is certainly another man's treasure. Some people take things to extremes though.
I'd say that the best place to dumpster dive is at a flea market after everyone has gone. I don't dumpster dive on a regular basis, but once I found a gorgeous painting propped up against the trash cans after a flea market here. It had a teeny tiny hole in the canvas but it was spectacular otherwise!!
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mrjoker
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posted on January 9, 2001 06:53:33 PM
seeing that made us get a shredder.
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sharkbaby
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posted on January 9, 2001 07:00:06 PM
mrjoker: be sure to get a cross-cut shredder! the strip cut ones don't shred it enough...
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triplesnack
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posted on January 9, 2001 07:01:03 PM
Thrift stores, like Goodwill and the Salvation Army, have problems with people abandoning their unwanted stuff on the sidewalk outside the store, or in their parking lot. They put up "No Dumping" signs and do everything they can to discourage people from doing this - I assume they want to be able to choose what donations they accept, and not get stuck with having to dispose of someone's un-sellable garbage.
I have an acquaintance who periodically drives by the local Salvation Army late at night or very early in the morning to check out what folks have illegally dumped there. I'm not sure I think this is OK - but she has made some incredible finds there.
In my apartment building, the management has set aside an area in the laundry room to "recycle" items; tenants can leave their unwanted stuff for others to take. I think most of the stuff usually ends up in the caretaker's quarterly garage sale. But a few weeks back I scored a great fab 50s magazine rack!
[Edited to add: I believe "dumpster diving" in most areas is illegal. I think the logic is that even though the stuff is in the trash, it's still the property of the person because it's still on their premises. Not sure about the Salvation Army example I gave above.]
[ edited by triplesnack on Jan 9, 2001 07:10 PM ]
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gravid
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posted on January 9, 2001 07:30:10 PM
The most incredible diving has been where I rent my storeage room at one of the u-store complexes. I was worried about spending the extra mony but I made $610.00 the first week and have never really had to pay out for the room. I always make a profit. I have pulled in and found it full of copper pipe someone threw away. Once there were boxes stacked outside full of the fancy leather bound collector books on acid free paper. One time someone left a desk top cnc milling machine with the tooling and software to run it. Another time it was full of 15 inch monitors.
I have gotten bags full of promotional beanies, a case of aspiren, and a big lucite showcase with locking doors. Recently someone threw away a whole bunch of gallon cans of white latex interior paint that had never been opened. It is just fine paint. Another time it was full of shoulder pads/helmets and other football equipment.
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mrssantaclaus
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posted on January 9, 2001 07:45:41 PM
The dumpster diving I was referring to was for empty boxes that are put in the dumpster for cardboard to be recycled. Stores like Dollar General put new ones in there all day long and for the most part don't care if you take them - gives them room in the dumpster for more!
If you want little boxes go to Wal-Mart around midnight. The stocking clerks will give you all that you want. They might look at you like you lost your marbles, but they will give them to you.
I once had a local weirdo go dumpster diving at my store. His incredible find, which he wore proudly about town, was a baseball cap my husband used for test printing designs. The hat had about 10 different screen prints, all over the hat - looked quite bizarre!
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kyriaki
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posted on January 9, 2001 07:56:00 PM
CAgrrl - you said:
the bums here all recycle our soda cans and the like
Could it be CAgrrl that maybe they're poor or even homeless and can't afford computers to sell things on eBay in order to supplement their incomes like most on these boards (even you) do?
Cashing in of soda cans has made a big difference to many folks on fixed incomes whether it be Social Security, Disability or even welfare. Poor people aren't bums.
Just my opinion,
Kyriaki
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bobarrett
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posted on January 9, 2001 08:04:57 PM
Well,I was waiting(driving around) for my wife to grocery shop and I passed a big dumpster full of broken down boxes at an outdoor/sports store Sunday.
Right next to it was another dumpster spilling over with new Yakima bike rack mounts,attachments and parts,all new in the package.Also found a new premium blow up matress,duofold long underwear,wool stocking caps and other new stuff.
Anyone want to place a wager that ebay finds good homes for all of it?
And this is on top of two dozen extra sturdy boxes (and,I was driving my brother in laws van after washing it,so I'm covered...lest anyone report the license plates of the dumpster bandit)
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libra63
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:10:04 PM
This is one of my more favorite things to do. There are many good finds in the Dumpster and not just garbage.
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krs
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:14:25 PM
Normally I don't do that, but a place nearby has me intriqued. It's a warehouse company that specializes in medical equipment, organ
transplant containers, and assorted out of date or otherwise unusable surgical instruments. I've found chest spreaders, dozens of amputation saws in all shapes and sizes, several really great lockable boxes that they use for shipping whole blood and blood products. It's really amazing what they throw in the big dumpster, usually on Tuesdays for some reason. We never know what might be in the shipping containers. There
have been whole hearts, some intact brains, fingers, hands, you name it. My wife found one that had an entire intact human head. It looked almost alive, I guess because of the quality of the box and the bags of cold fluid that it was packed with. When she brought it home my first thought was that it was Liberace's head, but the nose really wasn't big enough and I guess I was fooled by the sequins in the hair. Whoever it is, he's still out in the garage. We haven't been able to figure out what to do with him.
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ubiedaman
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:17:48 PM
Gravid
Can I rent a storage space next to yours?>?? WOW!!!!!!!
Some of the "dumpster diving" referred to in threads on this board ALSO include those dives made for BOXES for the folks who don't use the Priority stuff.
Keith
I assume full responsibility for my actions, except
the ones that are someone else's fault.
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luvmy2bears
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:21:40 PM
Ewwwwwww! She brought the head home! WHY??? Why would you bring home some guy's head? Yuck!
Edited to add my husband's 2 cents worth:
Well, that's one way to get a head in life! harharhar (what a dork)
[ edited by luvmy2bears on Jan 9, 2001 09:23 PM ]
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lotsafuzz
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:30:09 PM
luvmybears: Here is a grain of salt to take with Krs's post. 
Hmmmmm.....a dumpster diving thread AND a Good Will thread at the same time. Talk about a bad flash back. 
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wbbell
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:34:35 PM
KRS: We once had a neighbor who somehow had access to medical supplies (perhaps gotten from dumpster diving!) - but she got a roll of those bright red "biohazard waste" bags and used them for her regular garbage!
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MAH645
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posted on January 9, 2001 09:41:32 PM
I'd say if my Sister-in-Law found a few body parts,it would break her from the habit.Hopefully she won't find that kind of dumpster.
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xardon
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posted on January 9, 2001 10:07:13 PM
krs
DON'T USE YOUR HEAD!!!
Found heads always turn out to be from axe murderers, sociopaths, miscreants, or people with serious "issues". If you want a quality head, you've gotta know where it came from. And don't forget to pick it up in person. Those hunchbacked lab assistants are unreliable and there's always hell to pay when they make a mistake. It's probably OK to use the other stuff though.
Oh,yeah......plan an escape route before the townspeople show up with their torches.
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Crystalline_Sliver
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posted on January 9, 2001 10:40:33 PM
Dumpster diving got axed here...
All the Disposal companies switched many of the businesses and the Big Apartment complexes to those Big-Ass Automatic Trash Compactors after one dumpster diver sued a Disposal company while he was dumpster diving one night (He won also BTW).
Can't get anything when the stuff is compacted and mutilated beyond sellability...
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
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dave_michmerhuizen
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posted on January 9, 2001 10:53:59 PM
not deliberately, but once I was driving down a side street, found an old radio by someone's trash, and sold it on ebay for $6.00. Excellent COGS.
(cost of goods sold)
ebay: [email protected]
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Kellyrj32
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posted on January 9, 2001 10:58:10 PM
I have to laugh really, cause I use to throw out all my junk, well what I call junk anyways. I seen people go through my trash all the time, and I thought oh my goodness! Oh well, bet they made some money on what I threw out. Just wished I would have found ebay back then! LOL
Kelly
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mrssantaclaus
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posted on January 9, 2001 11:03:32 PM
And just where was eBay when I dumped 5 count them 5 garbage bags of Fashion Bug big ladies clothing after I lost alot of weight?
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twinsoft
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posted on January 9, 2001 11:14:51 PM
There was a dumpster in Palo Alto, the one behind Round Table Pizza on California Ave. Some drug dealer lived in the building, and used to throw out lots of marijuana. There was also an FBI field office using the same dumpster.
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eyedo
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posted on January 9, 2001 11:22:01 PM
Well,I'm lucky here..I live in an affluent condo complex.On my floors garbage room,I've found the following:
Louis Vuitton Purse
stereo (working!)
Designer wall sconces(sold for $300+ on ebay)
nice unused gym bag that retains its shape.
purses-nice leather
Books-new- looking
Blender-new in box!
videos-blanks,movies,store bought stuff
tapes
good unused office supplies
glassware(crystal candle holders!)
Plants in NICE brass and clay pots
everyday I find brand new magazines-alot of the trade publications too that can cost up to $40 an issue!
So,thru the years I'm proud to say,I live next to the garbage shute room!
Also,there is ALWAYS an ample supply of boxes too---so I rarely have to buy boxes to ship things in.
Today I found a really nice chair-I had to put it back though---just no more room for stuff!
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