Dumpster Diving

[Sickle of Justice]

i need help getting started. i know very little about dumpster diving, but i've seen the results and it seems pretty effective.

Where are good places to get food? Do grocery stores throw out things without taking them outta the box?

Is it illegal to dumpster shit? will people try and chase you off their property?

any advice?

[Organic Revolution]

Any big box store will be your target for dumpstering, such as K-marts, Wallmarts, Targets, etc. but be cautious, some use surveillance cameras in the back, and will call the police on you.

Grocery stores throw out all there food in bags, as per waste management standards, or workers want to help us in our plight.

Technically it is illegal to dumpster food, because it is still officially the property of the store, so they can consider it stealing, but I have been caught numerous times, and never been arrested.

Some management will call the cops or threaten you with force, but nothing crazy. The worst that has happened to me is a manager took a swing at me, but I didn't get hit, so your pretty much in the clear.

The one issue with dumpstering, is most stores put padlocks on the dumpsters, so you are going to want to (hypothetically) carry around heavy duty bolt cutters in your pack. Another piece of advice is to not hit the same store to often, as they will beef up security. And! Save the dumpsters in poor areas for people who cant afford groceries, so they have to dive.

[My Heart is a Molotov]

Originally posted by Organic Revolution
Technically it is illegal to dumpster food, because it is still officially the property of the store, so they can consider it stealing, but I have been caught numerous times, and never been arrested.
Caught by workers or police?

From what I gathered by Agnes Verda's doco "The Gleaners and I", its technically legal to dumpster in France. At the time they were referring to stuff on the street but I'm sure the same applies to being in the bin as well.



The worst that has happened to me is a manager took a swing at me, but I didn't get hit, so your pretty much in the clear.
Woah, that's pretty intense. The worst thing that's happened to me is being yelled at to go away. I did get offered ten dollars once. I thought it was really weird being offered money so I had to refuse.

I also got offered a house once by a guy who I met at a dumpster. He was a landlord and while we were dumpstering together, asked us if we were squatters and if we were interested he'd give us a house that he wasn't using. Too bad it didn't end up happening because his "partner in business" had some bad experiences with squatters and wasn't comfortable with giving us the house.



The one issue with dumpstering, is most stores put padlocks on the dumpsters, so you are going to want to (hypothetically) carry around heavy duty bolt cutters in your pack. Another piece of advice is to not hit the same store to often, as they will beef up security.
Sometimes if the bin is pretty full you could lift the lid enough to pull some of the top stuff out. Some bins that are padlocked have chains that are bolted to the lid. Instead of needing boltcutters you could just take a spanner and take the bolt off which has the same effect of removing a lock.

[apathy maybe]

Sickle of Justice, where are you at? The laws are different from place to place you see.



Where are good places to get food?
The back of supermarkets is nearly always good. Though you might have to go back night after night, until you work out when the good nights are.

Do grocery stores throw out things without taking them outta the box? I've never seen food that has been taken out of the box (if it is packaged food) before being thrown out. that would be a waste of time!

Is it illegal to dumpster shit? will people try and chase you off their property?
Depends and depends. If you are hitting a big supermarket, then the staff will probably not chase you or anything really. Security you might have to worry about though. A smaller store, probably doesn't have security... And the owner may or may not care.


Advice? Wear clothing that you don't mind getting damaged or dirty, boots, gloves and a hat.

A head torch would be good if you have one, or an ordinary torch otherwise.

Go with a friend (one more experienced if you can) and have fun together.

Have fun!

[AmbitiousHedonism]

IMO bolt cutters are a terrible idea. Do a scouting run during the daytime to see if dumpsters are locked or not. In the rare chance you do get caught by a pig and they find the bolt cutters, you're waay more likely to actually get in trouble ('tools of a crime' or something like that).

Be polite, leave when they tell you, and act like you're not doing anything wrong.

[lvleph]

Donut shops, bread shops, and pizza joints.

[Freigemachten]

Talk with some local store owners or small restaraunt owners. There's a place here in town that actually used to hire homeless folks to wash dishes at the end of the night, pay 'em cash under the table. They would also give them a pizza, as well as set out all their leftover pizzas in front of the store at the end of the night. All they asked was that people not gather and wait at the door for the place to close down. They said if they saw any one waiting around within 100 feet they wouldn't leave the pizzas out. They'd usually set out 5 or 6 New York style pizzas, and big ones, boxes were two and a half feet wide or so almost every night.

[lvleph]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 04:44 pm
Talk with some local store owners or small restaraunt owners. There's a place here in town that actually used to hire homeless folks to wash dishes at the end of the night, pay 'em cash under the table. They would also give them a pizza, as well as set out all their leftover pizzas in front of the store at the end of the night. All they asked was that people not gather and wait at the door for the place to close down. They said if they saw any one waiting around within 100 feet they wouldn't leave the pizzas out. They'd usually set out 5 or 6 New York style pizzas, and big ones, boxes were two and a half feet wide or so almost every night.
On the surface that sounds cool. You know, they are providing work and food, but at the expense of oppression. It is just another Capitalist exploitation of workers.

[ZeroPain]

Any tips on dealing with compactors?

[Organic Revolution]

Originally posted by [email protected] 06, 2007 04:14 pm
Any tips on dealing with compactors?
I would never recommend this......

But cover a rug with gasoline, roll it under, and light it.



disclaimer: I dont advocate violence or property destruction in any form. :)

[Sickle of Justice]

Sickle of Justice, where are you at? The laws are different from place to place you see.

Halifax, canada.