Talk:Dumpster diving

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[edit] SoCal student who set up a lucrative business?

Thank you Rossumcapek! WP works again! ww 14:53, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Not a problem. Rossumcapek 06:17, 26 Jun 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Brief outline

The style of this article seems to be rather non-encyclopedic. It's chummy and instructive, much like an instruction manual on how to dive. I have nothing against this, but it's not really what Wikipedia is about. It would be perfectly all right to have an outside link to such a thing. Other opinions? Hardwick 00:27, 9 May 2005 (UTC)

I agree. The second person ("you") needs to be edited out, as well as the casual tone overall. I just added a cleanup tag, but will try to get to some of it myself. --Mumblingmynah 21:33, 31 August 2005 (UTC)
Are people happy with how the page looks now? I still think the "Overview" section needs to be broken up into at least two sections. Don't ask me what. -Danspalding 08:06, 2 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] "Irrelevant" discussion

I've reverted some information that was previously deleted, albeit with heavy editing. The bulk of the story about Jerry Schneider, for instance, belongs on his own page, and the same goes for the over-long digression about computer security. --Mumblingmynah 05:08, 19 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Time references

In Italy, a law issued at the beginning of the new century declared dumpster diving to be legal.

This line would be better if the author could provide specific information. A date would be great, but I think the line could stand well enough if "the new century" were changed to say 1900s or 2000s, depending on which s/he meant. This sort of text could be problematic in the future, when it would have to be edited as "last century" or something like that. Ckamaeleon ((T)) 11:05, 24 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Skipping?!

I'm from the UK, and I've only ever heard "bin diving". Kinitawowi 23:30, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

Ditto. Skipping is something you do with rope - Most of my friends call it skip raiding - thomas.

I read somewhere else that there are places that call dumpsters skips, and that would be the origin of the term skipping. That first paragraph should definitely be cleaned up.

I've heard people here (Scotland) calling it skipping. - Caron —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.129.145.127 (talk) 17:45, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Computers

The article doesn't mention computers. With a lifetime of 18 months many fully working (and actually quite capable) computers gets dumped. It's also relevant for information diving as hard discs often aren't erased. // Liftarn

I've also heard that a lot of the older comps that are getting thrown out nowadays have rare earth magnets in them. How rare are they, and how much could I get for one if I found some. And where the heck is it in the comp? The Ungovernable Force 21:36, 17 May 2006 (UTC)
WP isn't really a forum for exchanging hints and kinks about this or anything else. Nevertheless, I'll point you to the article on the periodic table, and the links there. The rare earths are a group of elements (found in the ground) and are rare only in the sense that they're less common (generally) than some other groups of elements, such as the alkali earths. Some of the terminology is leftover from medieval times and alchemical practice. They pop up, in common use anyway, in the context of improved magnets as opposed to plain iron magnets, eg in loudspeakers. ww 15:22, 19 May 2006 (UTC)
WP gets used for off topic things all the time. The anarchism talk page seems more like a political debate than anything else. Anyway, thanks, I knew there had to be a catch. I should have remembered that from chemistry. The Ungovernable Force 18:52, 19 May 2006 (UTC)

There are ofcourse companies that recycle old computers for the content of gold, silver and copper. The conputers are dissolved into acid and then the metals are extracted using electrolysis. Not something you can do at home and it requires a lot of computers. // Liftarn

[edit] Furniture

I read in an article that antique dealers in New York look for finds in the trash people put out when they move. Because the appartments are so small you can't keep anything som they often find designer stull from th 1950s and 1960s. // Liftarn

[edit] Some links and references for possible use

  • http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/1/29/215523/088
  • http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.09/es_dumpster.html
  • http://www.frugalvillage.com/dumpsterdiving2.shtml
  • Empire of Scrounge: Inside the Urban Underground of Dumpster Diving, Trash Picking, and Street Scavenging ISBN 0814727387
  • Jason Abbruzzese. "From trash to treasure", Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg, Massachusetts), MediaNews Group, Inc. and Mid-States Newspapers, Inc., 2006-09-01. 
  • Sue Vorenberg. "Dumpster diving group pulls reusable materials from garbage bins", The Associated Press State & Local Wire, Associated Press, 2006-06-07. 
  • Sue Vorenberg. "Rubbish renegades", Albuquerque Tribune, Albuquerque Tribune, 2006-04-17. 
  • "Layton outlaws "Dumpster diving"", The Associated Press State & Local Wire, Associated Press, 2005-11-07. 
  • Elizabeth Mattern Clark. "Freegans in Boulder want to control wasteful society", The Associated Press State & Local Wire, Associated Press, 2006-06-13. 
  • Larry Barnard. "I was a student dumpster-diver", The Globe and Mail (Canada), Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc., 2006-08-24. 
  • Nicole Parton. "Dumpster diving poses too many dangers", The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia), CanWest MediaWorks Publication Inc., 2005-11-23. 
  • Elaine O'Connor; Peter Severinson. "Dumpsters serve up tasty dinner: Pamphlet offers tips to binners on how to find the best meal", The Vancouver Province (British Columbia), CanWest MediaWorks Publication Inc., 2006-07-06. 

Tom Harrison Talk 00:12, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Half this stuff doesn't male sense

Whoever wrote this has a poor grasp of the English Language. Lets all try to "clean up" this "trashy" article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 89.243.66.153 (talk) 20:06, 4 March 2007 (UTC).

Your puns are horrible.

[edit] unsupported/contradictory statements

Cut this text from the article:

Rarely is anything really useful found in dumpsters (gold, money, expensive new in the box items), most items tend to be in such a state of disrepair that little if any use was found by their owners. Thus was disposed in the dumpster.

Anyone who wants can put this back in, but here's my rationale for removing it: First, saying that "really" useful stuff is rarely found in dumpsters contradicts the examples throughout the article of useful things that may found frequently in dumpsters (food, clothing, etc). The wording suggests that gold, money, and "expensive new in the box items" are the only things that are useful, which I think most people would disagree with. Also, what is the source of these views (if not the writer's own opinions)?--Eloil 23:45, 17 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Socioeconomics of Dumpster Driving

This section was added by Septagram, deleted by me, and reverted by Septagram. This section has little to do with dumpster diving; it relates to people with obsessive/compulsive disorder with respect to hoarding. Even the article cited which is meant to justify the section never mentions dumpster diving. Rather than starting a revert war, what do other people think about deleting this section? -Danspalding 23:58, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, if parts of the section are too strong. Others editors can round it out and fill in the gaps. I believe the economic reasons for DD and their side effects are little understood. I have been into DD for over twenty years and I have seen the houses of other people, including myself, who are "thrifty" and into DD. I know the article uses a worse case example, but it is not too far off on what many DD's have seen or experienced (like Code Enforcement ... several times). There are some people who try to romanticize DD, but from my experience and from what I have seen of others, it is not the preferred lifestyle that most DD's dreamed of when they were kids. The basic economics of DD is based on some storage of things found and not throwing those things back to where they came from. Septagram 03:25, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] other ethical reasons for dumpster diving

Another ethical reason for people to conduct dumpster diving may be that we are trowing perfectly good food away while others in the developing world are starving and resort to eating paper and tree bark. [1]~

Include in article. Thanks.

KVDP (talk) 17:41, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

What you are saying is a Fallacy of False Cause. The food that goes to waste over here in the US will have little if no affect on the people else where in the world. There is a whole plethora of reasons why they are in trouble and it has little to do with the US being wasteful. Our wastefulness will have a greater affect on the poor in the US though. What has me more concerned is people who DD who do not need to DD. If people DD to prove a point, or are greedy, they take away from the truly poor. The poor by necessity, already know about DD and it is the little secret that society turns a blind eye. I, after too many years of DD, I am trying to forget and put behind my years of DD and leave it to those who need it most. I suggest you also forget about the waste and leave it to the poor to process. The wasteful people should also be left alone because if they are too "urbane" to figure it out, then educating them will most likely cause them only to become efficient to the detriment of the poor when they stop being wasteful (loosely applied Conservation of energy). We need only to educate the poor about DD and keep the rest blissfully ignorant. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Septagram (talk • contribs) 19:59, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Background - 2nd part rewrite

Following text was deleted. Please relook/improve (at) the info and reintegrate in article. Thanks. 87.64.170.222 (talk) 12:57, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

Supermarkets trow away much unused food
Supermarkets trow away much unused food
There are several ethical arguments used to justify dumpster diving. One is, by reusing resources destined for the landfill, dumpster diving becomes a green endeavor (and is thus being practised by many freeganist communities). Others believe that the wastefulness of a consumer society and its throw away mentality requires individuals to rescue usable items (i.e. computers) from destruction and diverting them to the less fortunate. 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 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.

I'm not sure what you're saying here - this text is still in the article, and I can't see that it's ever been deleted. --McGeddon (talk) 13:09, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dumpster diving vs Waste picker

Dumpster diving and Waste picker seem to be very similar concepts. Can someone explain their differences within the articles? -- 202.40.137.199 (talk) 07:48, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

Waste picker is a a profession, dumpster diving is an activity. // Liftarn (talk)

Dumpster diving can go from the one timer up to a full time "career" and the word "activity" seems to infer non-economic pursuits, which most DD are not doing for fun but to help supplement their incomes to prevent economic collapse and end up under the bridge or homeless shelter. Waste pickers are located in a lot of poorer countries with less social safety nets, where crawling in a dump is there only choice or starvation. American Dumpster Divers are nothing more than the richest Waste Pickers in the world. There are no VS about it. Septagram (talk) 02:40, 14 May 2008 (UTC)