r/DumpsterDiving Sep 09 '19

Dumpster diving tips and tricks: a thread

2.0k Upvotes

Comment with your best diving tips and advice


r/DumpsterDiving Mar 25 '23

My dumpster diving list I created with 6 years of experience. Feel free to add.

1.9k Upvotes

I was a vagabond for 6 years, I hitchhiked, hopped freight trains and bicycled North America from Mexico to Alaska, east coast to west. I learned all of this on the way and figure it's time to share it.

Food:

๐Ÿ•- all pizza places throw out pizza at 12-2am. It's a dumpster staple. [Yes pizza is still in the box, I wouldn't eat it otherwise]

๐Ÿฉ - all donut shops (including places like kolache factory) throw out at 2-4pm. [They usually put all donuts into one bag by themselves]

๐Ÿ— (fried chicken) - actually very common, also a staple. Usually throw out is around an hour after they close which varies from place to place. Anything fried in bulk you can expect to find throw outs. [Usually still in boxes]. Also, if you're feeling brave enough, after closing hours, just go ask. Fast food workers don't get paid enough to g.a.f. and they get tired of eating their own food, so they don't want to take it home themselves. Just walk up and say "hey, do you guys happen to be throwing out any leftover chicken from today?". I've gotten a week's worth of chicken just handed to me through the window or they'll leave it in boxes on top of the dumpster so you don't have to dig.

๐ŸŽ ๐Ÿฅ— (produce) - grocery stores (time varies, but you also have to find places without a compactor. Some compactors you can break into but it's luck of the draw).

๐Ÿฌ ๐Ÿซ ๐Ÿญ (candy, junk food, snacks) - CVS & Walgreens. They're the reigning Champs of throwing out hundreds of $ worth of candy a day. I kind of try to keep from telling people this one because you could get diabetes in like a week if you tried to eat it all. It's horrendous.

๐Ÿ‘• ๐Ÿ‘– ๐Ÿฉณ (clothes) - Washaterias or laundromats. People are infamous, especially in rich areas, for washing a load of laundry and then just leaving it, never to return. The laundromat workers will just gather the clothes and toss them, as they're pretty use to it. I've filled up a whole wardrobe on several occasions with expensive brands just by looking for a sack of already washed and dried laundry in the dumpster.

๐Ÿ›‹ ๐Ÿ–ฅ (furniture)(electronics)(decorations) - College towns, (Christmas & Summer break - these seasons are known as "Crustmas" in the dumpster diving community) anywhere students notoriously live. You can even find anything else your looking for really. College kids are the biggest dumpster diving source in history.

๐Ÿ“š books and comic books - Half Priced Books or any resale book store. I've accidently fallen asleep in dumpsters before because I drifted off while laying on top of all the hundreds of books while reading. Not even kidding, there isn't even any room for trash, they have dumpsters that are full to the brim with just books.

โ“๏ธ(Wild card) - Are you feeling lucky punk? - hotels are the biggest oddball dumpster diving experience you'll ever have. You can find drugs, clothes, anything that someone would bring in a suitcase. People get shit-faced drunk and stumble out of their hotel with a hangover leaving 1/2 their belongings behind. It's kind of scary some of the stuff you'll find...(sex toys, etc. ). The cleaning service ladies get first dibs obviously and rightfully so, for what they have to put up with, lol.

Raw materials: --------

๐ŸชตWood : Construction site dumpsters at expensive locations. Ask for permission from the contractor. Contractors are a mixed bunch, sometimes they'll say yes sometimes no.

โš™๏ธ๐Ÿ”ฉ๐Ÿ”—Metal : machine shops - you can honestly just call these guys and 1/2 the time they'll let you onto their property and take what you want from the scrap bin. I'm 3 for 3 just by calling and asking politely for scrap.

๐Ÿ”จTools - Harbor Freight tools, the return rate on tools at harbor freight is INSANE. So many people will buy a tool, use it one day and return it slightly bent or scratched. Most sites have a compactor but every now and then you can find with a regular dumpster. If so, you can score some pretty good tools. (Or mediocre tools for that matter lmao)

๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ ๐Ÿ—‘ ๐Ÿšฎ

Protip 1- Dumpster diving is all about schedule. Sometimes places only throw out the quality items once a month, sometimes they purge their inventory only seasonally, or sometimes it's daily. Finding out those routines is the key and all you have to do is probe the spot every now and then to figure that out; or if you know someone who has worked there before, ask. The better you know a schedule, the less time your loot sits in the dumpster/air temp/outside environment for someone else to find or for it to spoil.

2 - Heavy bags usually have the goods. In the end I could just feel the outside of a bag and then weigh it a bit. With knowledge about the store, the schedule, feel and weight, I would already know what's inside.

3 - consistent dumpster diving will get you fit. The more you climb the more you find.

4 - GEAR: โ€ข Headlamp โ€ข closed toe shoes (for when you get inside the dumpster) โ€ข gloves โ€ข a big box or bag for your car to chunk stuff in. โ€ข hand sanitizer

๐ŸŒŸ 5 - Clean up after yourself, if you leave a place a mess they will begin locking the dumpster. You'll ruin the spot for yourself and everyone else. This is the #1 reason why store owners tend to be against it ๐Ÿ”’

  1. ... get good at holding your breath while doing cardio ๐Ÿ˜‚

r/DumpsterDiving 6h ago

Let that sink (and computer) in

Thumbnail
gallery
59 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 17h ago

Someone really threw this all away

Post image
425 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 5h ago

Coat, Suit Jacket, Skullcaps, Jacket, T-Shirts

Post image
36 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 3h ago

Successful Trash Goblins - what is your biggest tip for us?

12 Upvotes

Let's get niche! If we can, let's get deeper than "always keep your eyes open". Do you have a tip that you think only a few people might know?

I'll go first! Always check the pockets of any standard bags like: backpacks, duffels, purses. I don't know why, but it seems like the more zippers there are on a bag the more likely it is to have a little money in it!

Edit: oh! Also, this is just the scrapper in me speaking. I always take a quick look in construction dumpsters (it's legal where I am as long as it's on the street or just a step off the street and not behind any fences or someone's driveway) when I was scraping for gas money, my best days were oddly enough when I found construction dumpsters where people would illegally dump their things. They consistently had one or two high value items, and you could instantly identify these opportunities because you'll see a bunch of household items contrast against nonsense construction background noise.


r/DumpsterDiving 7h ago

Found a working acer laptop (4gb ram 1tb hdd, gonna upgrade) a maybe working macbook in don't have a charger for, a working ipad mini 4, ipod touch 2st gen, and a google home i havent checked

Thumbnail
gallery
13 Upvotes

Picture of the working laptop, factory reset that, Cortina woke me up at like 3 am, ipad also works


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Free alcohol is the best alcohol

Thumbnail
gallery
188 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 23h ago

Coke Coolers

Post image
85 Upvotes

Two functioning coke coolers. From a place i have permission to hit. Ill get $500 for them


r/DumpsterDiving 7h ago

I always look in e waste

5 Upvotes

I found laptop, an ipad, an ipod, most if it works, check out your nearest e waste center


r/DumpsterDiving 18h ago

massive bubble wrap

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

17 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Mustard, Ketchup, Red Bull, Powdered Sugar, Command Hook

Post image
69 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Did a double take while passing by it to make sure I was seeing clearly.

Thumbnail
gallery
1.4k Upvotes

I have no words... why would anyone throw this away?

Also it is fully loaded and fully functional! Just some wear on the arm-rests which are a $20 replacement from Amazon.


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

So I got this dumpster diving very nice

Post image
692 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

My first haul!

Post image
121 Upvotes

I still can't believe I found as much as I did! It's crazy how much stuff gets thrown away everyday.


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Trash cans on the US/Mexico border?

5 Upvotes

๐Ÿค”


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

No gold or silver today...Just iron...from the civil war

Thumbnail
gallery
164 Upvotes

Model 1840/1860 style that cavalry carried. Nicknamed "wristbreakers". This one is unmarked, and from my research it's probably confederate.

Im sending this one to the auction house for sure.

Not pictured is a micro machines star wars mini playset and a figure of Dan Marino from the same dumpster.

I love history and now I can touch it ๐Ÿฅณ


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Havenโ€™t posted in a while

Thumbnail
gallery
220 Upvotes

I could keep going. But damn this past few months have been good to me. Iโ€™m just now finally getting around to selling everything.

Ps. The wedding band and cameras were found together with an envelope in the bag that said โ€œdonโ€™t open until we are marriedโ€ obviously I had to open it to see if there was money inside but it was a long ass love note. I didnโ€™t care to read it also I was nervous that the person that potentially cancelled their wedding was watching me.
I mainly dive at apartments. I have about 7 that I hit on the way home from work and usually I find at least 1 or 10 things.


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

137 Buldak ramens

Post image
452 Upvotes

Left the slashed ones behind, the 137 in here are sealed.


r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

A whole ass smoker ๐Ÿ˜€

Post image
86 Upvotes

It turns on she's just a lil dirty and that can be cleaned but free is free


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

1/1000000000 chance

Post image
1.0k Upvotes

Not found in a dumpster, but worst, AT the landfill. I was emptying my truck and was almost done when the truck next to me had finished emptying thereโ€™s. I saw a storage bin full of dvds which caught my eye, but then I realized, sitting right on top was this n64 box. Complete in box, (missing extra controller gray one) 30 years old and still in Pristine condition, whoever owned this and the games took care of there stuff, and Iโ€™m assuming passed away or something, and the people cleaning out the property taking it to the landfill had no idea what they had. Saved this from being buried in the earth. Minutes away from being crushed and buried for eternity. I will not forgive myself for not continuing to dig and see what other games I could find, unfortunately I was on my lunch break at my day job and was worried someone would be asking where I was ๐Ÿ˜… still one of the most amazing finds I think I have ever had to date.


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Last one for the weekend, I think my luck ran out for a bit

Thumbnail
gallery
62 Upvotes

Gnocchi and etcโ€ฆ


r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

And I found this today antique hand carved chest

Post image
61 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 2d ago

Great find I guess

Post image
51 Upvotes

r/DumpsterDiving 1d ago

Starting in a state that makes diving illegal

9 Upvotes

Hey everyone- I love seeing all of the items being saved from landfills! Questions about how to get started in a state that makes it illegal to dive. Also, a lot of places use enclosed dumpsters or locked..

Where do you go? How do you start?