Friday, March 2, 2007

The Dumpster Lady Answers FAQs

Welcome! I'm Mary, the Dumpster Lady! You've probably read about dumpster diving on one of the AOL or internet message boards and you want to know more. Well, you've come to the right place!

This FAQ page represents the first phase of my planned dumpster diving web site. I did the FAQs first because it will save me a lot of time in sending email and posting responses on the message boards.


























Is diving or scavenging legal?


The very first thing you have to do is find out whether dumpster diving and
scavenging are legal in your town and county. Diving is illegal in a few
towns and counties.

You can either go to the library and do the research yourself, or you can call
local law enforcement and ask. Most divers choose to call from a pay phone
so as not to identify themselves to law enforcement

I will tell you that local law enforcement is not always aware of the exact laws.
I've heard of cases where cops told divers that diving was illegal when the divers
know for a fact that it isn't.

Be respectful, neat, and quiet. Don't make a mess. Don't ever dump your own
trash in someone else's dumpster -- that's always against the law. If it says
"No Trespassing", don't. If a dumpster or an enclosure is locked, don't mess
with it.

If you find that it's illegal in your area, then dive outside the city or county limits.

Obey all laws. Period. End of story.



How do I get started?


Dumpster diving is not rocket science. There's nothing difficult about it. For most
folks, the hardest part is getting up the nerve to do it.

Most divers start by scoping out likely dumpsters. Do a few "drive-bys" where
you just look for likely dumpsters. You're looking for dumpsters that are
free-standing and are not compactors. Compactors are those large dumpsters
that are attached to buildings with a chute and have no visible openings.
Dumpster divers hate compactors. Apartment and office complex compactors
aren't too bad though. You can still salvage stuff out of those.

Enclosures are OK as long as they're not locked. You might find locked dumpsters
as well. Stay away from anything or anyplace that's locked.

Once you've scoped out likely dumpsters, then get up enough nerve to park the
car and walk over and look inside. It's that easy!


Where should I dive?


You can dive retail store, office, and residential dumpsters. Most folks choose to
dive retail, but I'm more of a residential diver. All of my 50 best and most valuable
diving finds have come from one apartment and one condo dumpster.

Any store that sells stuff that you want can be a good place to dive. Grocery stores,
bakeries, and health food stores are by far the most consistent producers. You can
find something almost every single day at these stores.

Other stores can be great too. Craft stores, book stores, housewares stores,
electronics stores, toy stores...ALL good diving spots.


When should I dive?


Every diver has a preference. Folks dive at all times of the day and night.
I prefer to dive between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. and very early on weekend
mornings. I've found that these are the times when I'm least likely to be confronted
at my particular stores.

But, the deciding factor is that I have a partner to go with me at night. If you're
diving alone, you may want to think twice.

I don't recommend that you dive much later than 10:30 at night. You're always
going to look like you're up to no good if you're rummaging around behind
stores at 1:30 a.m.



How can I find a buddy?


A lot of people (especially women) are hesitant to dive alone for a variety
of reasons. I have CAM to dive with me at night. But, I like to dive alone on
Sunday mornings if I can.

If you insist on having a buddy, the best way is to convince a real-life friend or
family member to go with you. Most kids love diving, and a lot of parents
dive with their kids.

You can try advertising for a buddy on one of the AOL message boards or
on the alt.dumpster newsgroup on the internet. Buddies are occasionally
made that way.

But don't feel bad if someone doesn't want a partner even if they live near you.
Folks spend a LOT of time developing their sources, and they don't always want
to share those sources with others. Divers are especially protective of their food
sources. Plus, dumpsters end up getting locked when lots of folks start frequenting
them. The Dumpster Lady saw this happen with her favorite housewares store
dumpster after she mentioned it at a dinner party.

You have to be self-actualizing to be a diver....well...you don't have to be, but it
helps. And remember.....safety first!


What do I do if someone sees me or I get caught?


Folks that can see you fall into two categories:

People you know.
People you don't know.
People that you know -- if you're worried about people you know seeing you,
there's not much I can tell you except that it gets easier with time. You will
eventually get to a point where you won't care one bit who sees you dive or
who knows that you dive. You can always dive far from home if you've got
a reputation to maintain.

The Dumpster Lady has always been out of the dumpster closet. Everyone that
knows me knows that I dive. Most have seen me do it at one point or another.
Most have received dived gifts from me as well.

People that you don't know -- store employees are the nemesis of dumpster
divers everywhere. For some reason, a few of them just can't stand divers.
Most employees will just pretend that they don't see you. John Hoffman
calls it the "Ninja Diver" syndrome. They really can't face up to the fact that
there are divers. I've experienced this many times.

I suggest that if someone asks you what you're doing, you should say:
"I'm looking for boxes." Be prepared to drop whatever you've nabbed.
(But never drop your Unger.)

If you're asked to leave, leave quietly without saying anything other than "OK"
or "Yes Sir". Treat your confronters with the respect that they THINK they
deserve. If you're asked to leave and never come back, leave and never come
back. To do so would be trespassing. There's always another store, always
more stuff.

Say nothing...or nothing substantive to store employees. You're never going to
win an argument about diving with a store employee. Never. Never ASK if it's
OK for you to dive, because they will almost always say "No!". And once you're
told "No", you can't legally go back.

The Dumpster Lady has been diving almost daily for 4-1/2 years. I have only
been confronted a couple of times. Know why? Because I'm very discreet.
I never pull my car up to a dumpster. Doing this is like having a 2-ton gold
(as in gold Volvo) flag that says, "Hey! I'm illegally dumping stuff in your
dumpster!"

I dive at night after the last of the store trash is taken out or very early on
Sunday morning when the stores are short-staffed. I park a ways away
from the dumpster and approach it quietly. I never make noise. I seldom
get into dumpsters (only 3 or 4 times in 4-1/2 years).

I don't linger. If I can't get something in 5-7 minutes, I don't get it. Usually it's
2 minutes or less. Hanging around for longer periods of time increases your chance of confrontation. The Dumpster Lady hates confrontations -- at least when she's diving.



Do I need any special tools?


You don't need any special tools or equipment to dumpster dive. But there are a
few things that are helpful....

Most divers use some kind of grabber stick. The sturdiest and best grabber stick
(in the Dumpster Lady's opinion) is the Unger Nifty Nabber. You can take a look
at the Unger (or "Felix" as folks call it on the message boards) here:

Unger Nifty Nabber

LM Colker Supply is a wonderful source for 51" Ungers. We can get them for
$19.95 plus shipping. The Dumpster Lady paid about $27 for hers, so this is a
very good deal. Identify yourself as a Dumpster Diver to get the discount.
Contact them at 800-533-6561 or email info@lmcolker.com. They accept
credit cards by phone, but you can mail a check. They are very nice folks.

Your Unger will pay for itself the first time you use it. But if you can't afford
it at first, you can use some makeshift puller/lifter tools. Put a coat hook into
the end of a wooden broom handle. Use an L-shaped curtain rod. Use a hoe.
There's lots of possibilities. They're not so hot at grabbing stuff, but they
work well for lifting stuff, poking stuff, and pulling stuff toward the dumpster
opening. The Dumpster Lady loves her Unger, though.

I can pick up a quarter off the bottom of an otherwise empty dumpster with
my Unger.

Other things are good to have: flashlight, leather work gloves, a stepping stool
of some kind, duct tape for taping slit bags closed, trash bags, grocery bags.
I always have plastic grocery bags in the glove compartment of the Volvo. Wet
wipes and some anti-bacterial hand gel are useful. You should always have a basic
first aid kit as well.



Do you REALLY dive for food??????


Yes, some of us really dive for food. If you keep an open mind about this, food
diving can end up making a huge difference in your life. Many of us get to the
point where we just don't want to deal with any more nonfood "stuff".
Then, we start thinking about diving for expendable items

The first day I dived for food, I had just been IN the store buying marked
down 1/2 gallons of orange juice for $0.50. While I was doing the rest
of my shopping, someone came with a cart and loaded up all the
orange juice into a shopping cart.

So, I hung around to see what happened to it. They wheeled the cart out
and threw scores of gallons and 1/2 gallons of orange juice away...that were
still 2 days from their due date. They were pasteurized. They were still cold.
It was winter, so it was cool. I went to the dumpster and grabbed as many
as I could carry. This experience was life changing for me.

Where would you draw the line? Would you not buy the marked down OJ?
Would you take it out of the guy's cart if he were a few feet from the dumpster and
asked you if you wanted it for free? Would you take it out of the dumpster?

We food divers tap into the sad fact that we're throwing away 96 BILLION
pounds of perfectly good food into land fills each year in this country.
By EPA estimates, we're spending $4.8 BILLION a year disposing of that
perfectly good food.

You can read more about food waste here:

Food Recovery and Gleaning - USDA

I'm working on a separate page for food diving. Check back later.



I looked, but all I saw was trash. I must be unlucky.


The reasons why beginners sometimes find nothing are simple:

* You have to look every day or almost every day.
* Persistence is everything.
* You have to find dumpsters that are consistent providers.
* You have to see with "dumspter diver" eyes.

I've had quite a few diving proteges online get discouraged during the first week or
two until they found dumpsters that produced stuff for them on a regular basis.
If you go once or twice and take a peek, chances are you'll see nothing.

For every good find you hear about from me or the other veteran divers,
there are days when I find nothing particularly great.

I used to look at the pharmacy dumpster every week -- just once a week on the
same day of the week when I dropped off dumpster dived donations to the
thrift store -- and I never saw anything. When I started peeking every day,
I found a LOT of stuff. I found that their toss-out cycles go in months, not
days or weeks.

Plus, I can go out diving with CAM (Mr. Dumpster Lady) or a friend and we
can both look in the dumpster. They'll say, "Nothing here!" But I can look in and
come out with a carload of stuff. Things aren't always out in the open and in plain
view. You learn to tell by how a bag looks or feels when you poke it.
You learn store discard patterns.

Don't get discouraged! Once you establish some consistent sources, you'll be
on Dumpster Easy Street. Trust me!


How much can I expect to find? Will this save me money?


Can you say "Early retirement?" Can you say, "Honey, we need to rent another
storage space?" Can you say, "I spent $20 on food for 10 people this month?"

Trust me, if you stick with this, you can find more stuff that you and 10 other
families can use. We have quite a few diver friends who are now selling dumpster
dived stuff at flea markets and other places.

We've got Moms who can now stay at home because of diving. We have diving
friends who are supporting themselves almost entirely with diving. There are folks
who have been able to go back to school because of diving.

Be frugal. Use the money you save for diving in ways that really matter -- college
for yourself or the kids, buying a home, saving for retirement. If you want to make
diving a TRUE savings, you have to SAVE that money, not blow it all.



Tithe What You Dive


I encourage ALL divers to Tithe What You Dive. The more you donate or give
away, the more you'll find. It's a simple Law of the Universe, but a profound one.

For many divers, this is the only opportunity that they have to get back because
they are financially strapped.

Give to thrift stores, churches, food banks, crisis assistance ministries, friends....
just GIVE it away. It's fun!

My personal ministry is clothing for the poor. I usually pull between 3,000 and
4,000 items of clothing from one apartment and one condo complex dumpster
each year. That's a lot of clothing. I give it to a place that gives it away for free
to those in need. It's where they take foster kids when they're first taken into
protective custody.

I now have my neighbors trained to just leave the clothing at my door. That way,
I don't have to dig it out of that awful compactor-like new dumpster in my
apartment complex.



Why all the fake names on the message boards?


There are people who are paid to search for brand and company names on the
internet. With the advent of the new message board search feature on AOL,
it's even more important that we be discreet.

We don't want to end up with locked dumpsters or even more purposely destroyed
goods than we see now.

The best way to figure out the names is to say them outloud. Think of words that
sound like the fake name or think of simple word substitution. "Dollar" may
become "buck" "General" may become "private". Get it?


How do I contact the Dumpster Lady?


I'm always happy to answer more questions. Feel free to contact me at:

TheDumpsterLady@aol.com

SalHemings@aol.com

You can also IM me on AOL or using AIM. If I'm not busy with work, I'll answer.
(Yes, being The Dumpster Lady is not my full-time job.)

(c) 2000 The Dumpster Lady. All rights reserved. No portion of this web site may be reproduced or copied without prior written permission of The Dumpster Lady.


http://members.aol.com/TheDumpsterLady/thedumpsterlady.htm

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