dumpster diving

[rioters bloc]

i didn't write this, it's taken from a publication at my uni...don't want to mention names publicly but pm me if you want to know the publication.

can't afford to buy good food?
sick of mee goreng and baked beans?
too scared to shoplift for your groceries?
have a lash at dumpster diving!

most supermarkets throw their food out well before the use-by date, or because of things like broken packaging. it seems crazy to spend money inside supermarkets when so much great food is going to waste everyday for no real reason. there's really no reason to settle for rice and peanut sauce for dinner every night, when you can pick up a plethora of tasty treats for free.

all you have to do is find out where they keep the bins at your local supermarket/health food store/bakery etc. [they are usually at the back of the shop or in the car park.] then find out when is a good time to dive in - preferably before the rubbish is picked up/after the staff go home. some places use trash compacters these days so there's not much you can do to get around that. although, it would be a good idea to try and befriend the person who is responsible for throwing the shit out. we once met a romanian trash guy in a london train station. he delivered us huge sacks, full of goodies, from a gourmet supermarket, before they faced their doomed fate of the compacter. we were feasting on organic cherry tarts and frozen tangine for two weeks.

there are plenty of dumpsters to scrounge around in all through sydney. some of them can be a it inaccessible, behind padlocks and fences, but where theres a will theres a way. if its too hard to get into one, theres probably an easier one nearby anyway. all you really need to take is a big bag to put your findings in, and maybe some rubber gloves if you get squeamish. also don't wear your sunday best if you're planning on jumping in. watch out for meath, but sometimes you cna find quality meat that's still cold and in date, if you're into that kinda thing...

also, it's a billion times more fun than kicking around coles and waiting for hours in the check out line.

[Organic Revolution]

wonderful post. i love dumpster diving. last night i got 15 pounds of granola from whole foods.

[Clarksist]

I can always get warm pizza in boxes freshly thrown out.

Read that again.

Let it sink in.

If you are lucky though, if the pizza joint has a buffet, just ask for some of the food when they are throwing the left overs away. You can usually get loads of food.

[Monty Cantsin]

I ate dumpster dived food when I was in Sydney but when you describe the process to me it doesn’t sound that cool anymore.

[TheReadMenace]

Dumpster diving is amazing.

I pulled in a haul of oranges the other night. Plus, a loooong time ago I dove for bagels...two trashbags full of 'em. I threw 'em in the deep freeze, haha. Good stuff.

My town is too small to have a whole-foods place, but there is a 'Sun Harvest' in the area, and they have some cool stuff (lots of good organic foods).

Andrew

[Palmares]

Originally posted by Monty [email protected] 4 2005, 12:49 PM
I ate dumpster dived food when I was in Sydney but when you describe he process to me it doesn’t sound that cool anymore.
Damn bourgeois communist... :lol: Sydney has some great dumpstered food you stooge!

I think dumpster diving is a great concept. It is the freegan ethic. And hell, for the most part it works out really well if you are vegan or vegetarian due to for one most of the food being of that sort, and two, that of which you wouldn't eat is either already uneatable, or not consumable for long. Good luck to the bourgeois organic eaters though! That lifestyle is expensive.

I really think you need to pick your dumpster though, as it can be annoying to find good ones.

For example, for those who don't attempt to unlock locked dumpsters, most bins will be quite crap. People like to hide the good stuff. I'll get some more info on unlocking/unhinging dumpsters later.

But getting to my point, I think getting a system for your dumpsters is good. I've found supermarket dumpsters are really good for junk food, and sometimes for fruit and vege and bread. They also seem to throw out all the same type of stuff on the same night, so dumpstering multiple times a week is my reccommendation. I also like to go to bakery bins and fresh fruit and vege places for better quality stuff (better quality bread, etc).

One question for eveyone from me is: what is your threshold for dumpstered food? As in, what wouldn't you eat?

I almost always to no to a packaged item that has been opened whilst in the dumpster.

Meat is a no no from me. It goes rotten pretty quick...

I drink dumpstered milk often. Haven't come across anything too bad so far.

Hmmm... can't think of what else at the moment, except maybe that I wash all fresh fruit and vege i eat from the dumpsters. I swear I know some people who don't.

[Zingu]

I need to do this....

[bed_of_nails]

I honestly could never get myself to eat something from a giant smelly dumpster.

[rioters bloc]

Originally posted by [email protected] 4 2005, 03:29 PM
I honestly could never get myself to eat something from a giant smelly dumpster.
fair enough, thats your choice

but for some people it's the only way to get any nutrition in their diet, and for others its the only way to not starve

[bed_of_nails]

I will steal before I do that.

I trust my legs to carry me very fast as they have in the past. I just could never make myself eat from something that smells that bad.

[Hiero]

I think it would be better to organise food collectives. Get a group of people together and people pay as much as the can to buy bulk food. You may even get supermarkets and other buisness who are willing to subsides food for the collective, if it is going to be possitve.

Im guessing the Black Panthers breakfasts they supplied would of been subsides from the willing buisness.

[Organic Revolution]

how to get rid of a trash compactor:

soak a parge peice of carpet in gasoline, push it under the compactor, light and walla... they will have a dumpster in 3 days tops... and for locked dumpsters you can use bolt cutters for the lock.

[Palmares]

I think unhinging the dumpster is better than using a boltcutter to remove the lock - as it won't piss off the owner of the dumpster so much (people have been known to increase security on such occassions, like hiring a guard) and thus make it easier for you to continue using that dumpster.

I think I have a write up on unhinging dumpsters somewhere. Might post it later.

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by [email protected] 4 2005, 09:47 PM
I think unhinging the dumpster is better than using a boltcutter to remove the lock - as it won't piss off the owner of the dumpster so much (people have been known to increase security on such occassions, like hiring a guard) and thus make it easier for you to continue using that dumpster.

I think I have a write up on unhinging dumpsters somewhere. Might post it later.
yeah post it, but, i cut the lock on the wholefoods dumpster, everyday for 2 weeks, and finally gave up.

[Clarksist]

I just could never make myself eat from something that smells that bad.


The only food I eat out of dumpsters doesn't stick. And if you get vegetables, you only need to scrub them a bit and peel them. You can't really get sick that way.

Actually tonight, me and my mate ate a large pizza via dumpster. We did the old trick where you order it right before they close and say you'll come pick it up, then once they close and throw it away, retrieve it for a delicious free meal.

Tasty, legal, and free.

[rioters bloc]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2005, 03:10 PM

I just could never make myself eat from something that smells that bad.


The only food I eat out of dumpsters doesn't stick. And if you get vegetables, you only need to scrub them a bit and peel them. You can't really get sick that way.

Actually tonight, me and my mate ate a large pizza via dumpster. We did the old trick where you order it right before they close and say you'll come pick it up, then once they close and throw it away, retrieve it for a delicious free meal.

Tasty, legal, and free.
hahaha thats great!


this isnt a dumspter diving technique, nor is it free, but on the topic of pizza

when with a bunch of people ring up a pizza company and order some, tell the person on the other end that you have a coupon entitling you to delivered pizzas for $3 or whatever. USUALLY theyll just punch it in and send it off.. when the person comes to deliver it they wont ask for the coupon because all they're given is a receipt with how much to collect from you.

this doesnt always work because sometimes they ask for a code, in which case i go hold on ill look for it...oh wait, its expired anyway... my bad and hang up. more often than not though they dont bother.

i know that i dont at work... if someone tells me that such and such has been advertised for a certain price, i just modify the price on the screen. cos i know even if theyre lying, the company can afford it :P

[The Feral Underclass]

We call it skipping in England.

It'sa great way of living for nothing. I only get JSA so im pretty poor all the time and if that has to go on food then I want actually be able to have a life. Some of the stuff they throw out at Waitrose is incredible.

Skipping is also good for wood and stuff. We're building a DIY punk venue at our social centre and all their stuff they managed to get from skips. Including wood for the stage.

[Gunman]

Originally posted by [email protected] 5 2005, 05:10 AM

I just could never make myself eat from something that smells that bad.


The only food I eat out of dumpsters doesn't stick. And if you get vegetables, you only need to scrub them a bit and peel them. You can't really get sick that way.

Actually tonight, me and my mate ate a large pizza via dumpster. We did the old trick where you order it right before they close and say you'll come pick it up, then once they close and throw it away, retrieve it for a delicious free meal.

Tasty, legal, and free.
That´s Priceless! :ph34r:

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

but for some people it's the only way to get any nutrition in their diet, and for others its the only way to not starve

My guess is that those people don't post on RL.

[rioters bloc]

Originally posted by [email protected] 7 2005, 08:19 PM

but for some people it's the only way to get any nutrition in their diet, and for others its the only way to not starve

My guess is that those people don't post on RL.


why do you say that?

[bed_of_nails]

You could pay for internet and a computer and eat out of something people put decaying and dirty matter in, or pay for food that hasnt been in a trash recepticle.

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

why do you say that?

Most people who can afford a house, computer, and internet can also afford food.

[rioters bloc]

for me, since most of my friends i met at uni, they have free access to the internet there.

so while they might be squatting and have to eat out of a dumpster, they've got a computer to work on at least :P

but generally, thats true companero

[Clarksist]

Most people who can afford a house, computer, and internet can also afford food.


Most public libraries have access to the internet.

But you can&#39;t look at porn unless you go into those through sites. <_<

[Nothing Human Is Alien]

"Most people who can afford a house, computer, and internet can also afford food."

My country doesn&#39;t even have many public libraries, and none that I know of have internet access for use of the public.

There are internet cafes, which is what most people use, but they cost &#036;.

[Commie Rat]

for more freshness dress up as a charity worker and go in at closing asking for donations, unless they are barsterds they cant refuse

[Organic Revolution]

i got 100 loafs of bread last night from a anarchist panera bread worker&#33;

[rioters bloc]

hahahaha thats nuts&#33; nice going ;)

btw organic i like your new avatar :)

[Donnie]

We have a kind of small skip round my area, I go up to it sometimes and look for computer hardware that people have chucked out.
But I can&#39;t think of places where a supper market will dispose of their trash round my area. <_<

[Organic Revolution]

any super marker near you is required to.

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by [email protected] 8 2005, 01:13 AM
You could pay for internet and a computer and eat out of something people put decaying and dirty matter in, or pay for food that hasnt been in a trash recepticle.
You&#39;ve obviously never been skipping.

The food you get out of food skips which are usually empted every other day contain food that is no more than one day out of date and still packaged.

Super markets through out tonnes of food a week which is completely fine and which is a complete waste. so Although I can spend £15.99 a month on the internet I can eat like a king for free every day.

We had pizza, garlic bread, chocolate caramel short breads and chocolate cake yesterday.

[Camarada]

have fun eating trash. Obviously if you can afford a computer, you don&#39;t need to go "dumpster diving".

Eating food before they throw it out is fine, but diving through trash is unhealthy.

[The Feral Underclass]

You don&#39;t seem to understand. Food skips aren&#39;t the trash&#33; They are skips where they put food that is one day out of date and that they empty every other day, if not every day. You&#39;re not dving through trash, you&#39;re picking out packaged food that the supermarkets don&#39;t want to sell.

Also, you can get computers for free, or at leat I can, which I did. So don&#39;t jump to conclusions.

[OleMarxco]

I have no idea why these corporation&#39;s guard over their fuckin&#39; waste so much and care so much if people&#39;ll take it. It weren&#39;t bought anyway&#39;s, geez&#33; Why not jus&#39;give it away and gain a good&#39;REP&#33;? Oh no, I know, you can&#39;t, &#39;cuz it ain&#39;t PROFITABLE, so you&#39;ll piss-away money on guard&#39;s and security-lock&#39;s..or even alarm&#39;s, instead&#33; WHY THE HASSLE&#33;?

It&#39;s really bothering me...Can&#39;t they just givme a rea&#39;zon&#33;? ;)

[Left-wingist]

The Anarchist Tension. Can you explain how you got this free computer. Would be good to know.

[The Feral Underclass]

Originally posted by Left&#045;[email protected] 10 2005, 09:35 PM
The Anarchist Tension. Can you explain how you got this free computer. Would be good to know.
I asked my friend if he knew where he could get me a computer. he said there were some old ones in his office so he gave me one.

Also, in the city where I live there is a place called Access Space which recycle old computers and take out the different bits from the different broken computers and put them together to make a whole one. These they give away for free.

[danny android]

I got a computer the same way. However it is very slow so i only use it for printing flyers and stuff, because it has a laserjet printer. So it is hella fast.

[farleft]

If you live in London you can get free things (sometimes computers from the freebies section of Gumtree.com (http://www.gumtree.com)

[Quinlan Vos]

Dumpster-diving is good not just for food, you can also get clothes, computers, stereos, bike, practically anything if you look. If you know what REI is, check out their dumpster. With regards to food, I&#39;ve found that it&#39;s always easy to find bread, bagels, and the like (because they make a lot of that stuff and they throw it out everyday), but I&#39;ve found it slightly harder to find good veggies and fruit, although it does happen. At least with stale bread and bagels you can put it in a toaster, but with bad lettuce you can&#39;t do anything.

[Enragé]

Originally posted by rioters bloc+Sep 7 2005, 10:47 AM--> (rioters bloc &#064; Sep 7 2005, 10:47 AM)
[email protected] 7 2005, 08:19 PM

but for some people it&#39;s the only way to get any nutrition in their diet, and for others its the only way to not starve

My guess is that those people don&#39;t post on RL.


why do you say that? [/b]
if you are going to starve

would you have a computer?

whoops didnt see the second page :rolleyes:

[Forward Union]

Originally posted by The Anarchist [email protected] 5 2005, 11:01 AM
Skipping is also good for wood and stuff. We&#39;re building a DIY punk venue at our social centre and all their stuff they managed to get from skips. Including wood for the stage.
Once me and a couple of mates managed to find 2 bags of cements, 2 bags of sand, and fuckloads of wood....we built a camp next to a motorway and used it to store stuff. Was pretty cool until the rozzers decided it was a problem, and got the council to cut some of the trees from around it. And split it in half with a barbed wire fence.

Still, I live about 5 mins away from a massive and i mean massive supermarket. There&#39;s an ally leading fro ma small copse that allows you acess to the dumps...

[Patchy]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2005, 08:14 PM
have fun eating trash. Obviously if you can afford a computer, you don&#39;t need to go "dumpster diving".

Eating food before they throw it out is fine, but diving through trash is unhealthy.
Wash it off. Make sure it isn&#39;t rotten. Cook it. Recook it.

I don&#39;t think you and the divers are seeing eye to eye. It&#39;s about waste, having all that food just rotting and being thrown out is silly. These guys are lessening the waste, give them a hand.

I&#39;m going to go give it a shot this weekend.

[rioters bloc]

we found the BEST strawberries on the weekend, all packaged and sealed, about 12 of those plastic tub thingies full of them. theyre currently in my freezer. possibly the best strawberries i have ever tasted - i usually hate them but these were awesome.

[Black Dagger]

From where?

[Palmares]

Last week me and a couple of friends came into a small town from a forest blockade to get booze and food and dived into the local supermarket chains dumpster.

Upon opening the bin and looking inside, a friend said, "It&#39;s Christmas time".

Even though I don&#39;t celebrate such a consumerist concept, indeed, what we found inside that dumpster was amazing. Shitloads of donuts, bread, yogurt, chips, chocolate. Everything&#33;

It was the biggest score I&#39;ve ever exprienced. Mind you, we had a car, so we actually had the room to empty like half the dumpster.

Getting to the dramatic part of the mission though, two of the guys with me were dumpster newbies, so they were pretty excited by the spectacle and didn&#39;t really think too much about quality, or even safety - which I mean as in being caught.

There we were, digging through the bin for like 10-15 minutes, when myself and the other non-newbie tell the other guys to hurry up and that we should leave. But they kept on digging.

Suddenly the roller door to the back of the supermarket opens.

And then we found that myself and the other non-newbie were right in front of a supermarket worker and that the two newbies had ducked down in the dumpster.

"What are you guys doing?" says the fascist... I mean worker.

"Waiting for a friend," says my friend.

Then the two of us get into the car and pretend to be off on our way. Then we stop at the dumpster (now that the worker is out of site), and whisper to our friends to jump out of the dumpster.

And viola&#33; Our mission is complete.

Oh, and we ventured back to the dumpster an hour later to find workers waiting for us so we just drove straight past them - and did they stare us down - and did we laugh in response...&#33;

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

You make me jealous. I would love to try dumpster diving sometime, only I live nowhere near a supermarket :angry:

[idealisticcommie]

One of the two jobs that I have is stocking shelves at a supermarket on 3rd shift. Anything that is perishable and expired gets put into a grinder which is attached to our drain system. :o Anything which is date expired from standard grocery,(canned goods and packaged goods), get sent back to our main distribution warehouse. Cardboard gets compacted and sent out to our main recycling plant. Nothing....absolutely nothing get dumpsterized for potential liberation by the needy. And beware to the person in charge of running the grinder; they are on camera constantly. Liberating food before disposal is Felony Theft in Illinois. :angry:

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Originally posted by [email protected] 1 2005, 03:36 PM
Liberating food before disposal is Felony Theft in Illinois. :angry:
I cannot fucking believe this. Why go to so many lengths to protect stuff that they will never make a profit out of?

[violencia.Proletariat]

Originally posted by NoXion+Nov 1 2005, 04:28 PM--> (NoXion @ Nov 1 2005, 04:28 PM)
[email protected] 1 2005, 03:36 PM
Liberating food before disposal is Felony Theft in Illinois. :angry:
I cannot fucking believe this. Why go to so many lengths to protect stuff that they will never make a profit out of? [/b]
because if they didnt, they would be making too much sense. and you cant have people with common sense around, can you :P

[Palmares]

Most supermarkets etc don&#39;t want to spend the money on sending items back, so they simply put it in their dumpsters because it is more cost effective.

[Mujer Libre]

Originally posted by [email protected] 2 2005, 04:48 AM
Most supermarkets etc don&#39;t want to spend the money on sending items back, so they simply put it in their dumpsters because it is more cost effective.
They also think that if people are getting the stuff for free that it will deprive them of business; profits before people ya know.

It&#39;s so frustrating to see so much food going to waste when there are hungry people. :angry:

Bakeries are quite a good place to try for free food though. I used to work at one and most of our leftover bread went to soup kitchens and stuff, but we also got to take some ourselves and we used to give it to the centre staff because it seemed so stupid to throw it out.

[Ginger Goodwin]

;)

[Palmares]

Food not Bombs say that? I know most FnB collectives use food from shops who directly donate it to them, I&#39;ve known some people to use dumpstered food in a situation of needing more food.

Do you have a link where FnB say the non-dumpster thing?

[Ginger Goodwin]

;)

[idealisticcommie]

What about this doesn&#39;t this make sense to your capitalist mind? :lol: Its cheaper to pay for the electricity for a food disposer and the slave wages for a peon like me to run it, than to pay for a dumpster and servicing outside of the building.

The cardboard can be sent to a recycling company for cash, and the damaged grocery items are sent back to their particular manufacturers for store credit.

Also, and please think like a capitalist for a minute: Why would a company not want to increase their profits by making their employees pay for every morsel they can, and why would they want to give poor people free food when they can make them pay for it? Also, until the food is run through the disposer it is still, from a strictly legal perspective, potentially salable product, and therefore taking it is theft.

All of our middle-class outrage doesn&#39;t change how capitalists think: Screw morals; Screw the poor; Fuck YOU-Pay ME&#33; ;)

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Also, and please think like a capitalist for a minute: Why would a company not want to increase their profits by making their employees pay for every morsel they can, and why would they want to give poor people free food when they can make them pay for it? Also, until the food is run through the disposer it is still, from a strictly legal perspective, potentially salable product, and therefore taking it is theft.

I always thought that sell-by dates meant that food that has gone past the sell-by date cannot legally be sold, and therefore it would be impossible to make a profit anyway, making excessive protection of what is effectively trash (To the supermarkets anyway) a profit loss.

Mind, I was raised in a home where nothing went to waste - If my sister didn&#39;t want to eat something, she gave it to me, and if I didn&#39;t want it, the dog had it.
The only time of the year we have leftovers is Christmas, &#39;cause the servings are so huge.


All of our middle-class outrage doesn&#39;t change how capitalists think: Screw morals; Screw the poor; Fuck YOU-Pay ME&#33; ;)

I&#39;m not middle class :angry: What have you been told about making assumptions?

[DIzzIE]

Just to bump this up a bit;

Advanced Dumpster Diving Techniques (http://www.rorta.net/index.php?page=advanceddumpsterdiving)

Orderly Dumpster Diving: An Excursion in Wetware Manipulation (http://www.rorta.net/index.php?page=orderlydumpsterdiving)

[RedArmyFaction]

i once watched a programme on tv about a guy who raided supermarket dumpsters to look for food. he used to take it back to his house and eat it. the food was healthy to eat..............might try it myself :)

[Bilan]

Me and a friend went for a dive not long ago, found a whole heap of Donuts. We only took a few though. It&#39;s best not to be greedy. Share the love&#33; :D

Dumpster Diving is great. The amount of stuff you can get is just insane&#33;

Not to long ago, myself and a couple of friends went diving and we came out with 200 (or more&#33;) marshmallows&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
We gave a whole heap away - and we just happened to give some to a guy who worked at subway, who then decided he would give us a free sub&#33;
That was pretty awesome.

I also have an organic supermarket near where I live that has 3 full size dumpsters filled with organic food&#33;
So good.

[shorelinetrance]

hey guys, i have a job that pays 13 dollars an hour, 40 hours a week, i plan on moving out really soon, 13 dollars an hour is only enough for rent/internet/bills, do you think if i went in with a trash bag late at night, i could get a weeks worth of food in one go?

I&#39;m not really picky in what i eat.

also does anyone know what are some really good things to get, and what are some things to stay away from?

thanks.

if this is true in what you guys are saying, why do people bother buying it?

[Palmares]

Potentially you could. Like , I think either you would need to ask local dumpster divers for tips, or do your own research.

But yeah, if the bins out of of the store (as in, not stored in the shop), then theres possibilities given the waste of all the first world, and esp big corporations like supermarkets.

But yeah, no guarentees, you may have to go to multiple bins in a night, or go a few times a week. Depends. sometimes one bin a week.

Trial and error my friend, til you master it of course.

[An archist]

gtting weeks worth of food in one go seems unrealistic to me, usually the food you get is not in the best condition. good enough to eat, but not good enough to keep for weeks.
But look around, maybe you&#39;ll find a goldmine&#33;

[Palmares]

I think thats a fair point in regards to especially fresh produce etc, however, I would warn caution not to buy into capitalists standards what is the so-called expiry. Most expiry dates refer to a minimum, so the companies are not liable, rather than being an accurate approximation of when they are no longer edible.

Also, dont forget those preservatives - they are a dumpster divers best friend&#33;

But yeah, with time and practice, you&#39;ll get a good feel for what is edible and what is not. Like I&#39;ve said before, ive never gotten sick from dumpster food, and you can quite quickly pick up on the tell tale signs of what is off. And people also have different levels of comfort in this regard too. An example of something being off is like yogurt - if the tub looks like its about to burst, thats probably not a good sign...

[An archist]

I agree, you shouldn&#39;t go for the expiry date, but if the product is past that date, it&#39;s an indication it won&#39;t hold for much longer (unless your nose tells you otherwise offcourse)

[anarchista feminista]

also keep an eye on when the dumpsters are emptied and when the food is freshest. you can ask some farmers markets for their food as they usually aren&#39;t open all week and need to get rid of alot. bakers are a good place to check out as they also get rid of food after a day or so.

[apathy maybe]

Just a random note, if you live in a place where they have regulated shop trading hours (such as closing on Sundays), try dumpster diving on Sunday&#33;

Currently I do, however, my situation means that a) I don&#39;t need to, b) I don&#39;t have an &#39;opportunity&#39; to.

Ah well.

[Delirium]

I just got back from diving, and got lettuce, spinach, asparagus, green peppers, 2 artichokes :wub: ,radishes, and squash out of a kroger dumpster. Plus we got some warm hot and readies, and a multitude of bagels. It was a good night.

[Never Give In]

Originally posted by rioters bloc+September 07, 2005 06:16 am--> (rioters bloc @ September 07, 2005 06:16 am)
[email protected] 7 2005, 08:19 PM

but for some people it&#39;s the only way to get any nutrition in their diet, and for others its the only way to not starve

My guess is that those people don&#39;t post on RL.


why do you say that? [/b]
He&#39;s implying if you have to live out of a dumpster, then you definitely can&#39;t afford the internet.