Dumpster Diving (Tips and such)

[Demosthenes11]

jesus christ are you dumb fucks still trying to justify this?

Think of it as cost/benefit ratio. Oh cool a sealed bag of chips that I found and rumbling around in the garbage? Great, I just spent 10 minutes in a fucking dumpster digging through shit (almost literally) to find a fucking bag of chips.

Benefit: eating a $.30 bag of chips. Cost: Civilized dignity, potentially your health.

"But the waste in this country!!!!" Sorry to break it to you, but there are ways of bringing attention to that cause / change it without eating garbage

[Hiryo]

I wish chips were that cheap around here. 4.50 for 1 bag of lays

[hey]

Cost: Civilized dignity, potentially your health.

Unless you're retarded, there's no real health risk. It's 100x safer than some other things we all do every day, at least. And dignity is for suckers.

I thought of this thread this morning while finishing the last of the moving/cleaning of my old apartment, some fifty-ish year old guy was diving at the place. He actually picked out of some of the shit I'd tossed like twenty minutes earlier.

I just don't get it, at all. That shit smells so fucking bad, I can barely stand to walk up to the dumpster for the three seconds it takes for me to dump the trash bags into it, let alone to dig through it. You got dogshit, flies, piss, beer, food remnants (shudder, phobia), and god knows what else. If you have the intestinal fortitude to suffer through all that - in 95 degree weather, no less - then I guess enjoy your findings? I have enough trouble taking my trash out there without vomiting. I've never been close to a dumpster - unless it was a "cardboard only" dumpster or some shit - that didn't smell absolutely wretched.

He was probably homeless. That's the wrong kind of dumpster to be diving in.

[Bregor]

And dignity is for suckers.

Oh internet, I will never tire of your "people who value different things than me are idiots/suckers/lemmings" sentiment.

[Salodin]

Why hasn't any one pointed out to the hobos in this thread that any packaged food with a little bit of mold on one piece means the whole thing is most likely contaminated? By the time you see the mold, most of the food is already moldy, the spores just haven't come out yet. Enjoy eating your fungus though.

Diving for furniture isn't bad, if it's in good shape and thoroughly cleaned. But food? Don't do it, ever, unless the people throwing it out prepare a special bag and area for you to do it in. It's just common sense, regardless of how much "waste" it is. You don't know what happened to that food, even if it isn't apparent to the naked eye. You don't know if it was accidentally sprayed with chemicals while a worker was cleaning, don't know if it was left out for too long in transit, don't know if it was recalled and pulled off the shelf because of contaminants. Jesus, just apply for food stamps or something, this is exactly what they were created for...

[Meresgi]

Benefit: eating a $.30 bag of chips. Cost: Civilized dignity, potentially your health.

Where the fuck are you buying chips?

You don't know what happened to that food, even if it isn't apparent to the naked eye. You don't know if it was accidentally sprayed with chemicals while a worker was cleaning, don't know if it was left out for too long in transit, don't know if it was recalled and pulled off the shelf because of contaminants. Jesus, just apply for food stamps or something, this is exactly what they were created for...

Except you can tell if you use half a brain cell. If that shit is in the dumpster and the expiration date is a month away, then you know something is up. If the expiration date is TOMORROW then you know they threw it out at the end of the shift BECAUSE PEOPLE DONT BUY SHIT AT STORES THAT EXPIRE THAT DAY.

Also you can't get food stamps if you're in college and white. Double whammy.

Oh internet, I will never tire of your "people who value different things than me are idiots/suckers/lemmings" sentiment.

All I see is a self elevated sense of dignity with some people here. Some don't care either way about it, and some look down upon it like you motherfuckers live up in Trump tower snacking on truffles with gold toilet paper. Just because you do this shit doesn't mean you can't have any dignity. Shit some people who do this make 6 figures and this just to them is frugal *shrug* Get off your high horse, if it's not for you it's not for you, but dont look down on others because you somehow think you are the end all be all of humanity, and I won't even get into the whole "hippy" mode about how fucked up it is that our country wastes this much fucking food. It's not like you go around telling your boss you do this shit or bring it up at interviews or stand around with a sign, the thread was for tips for doing it not to raise a moral viewpoint over it, over if it's right or wrong, that's the whole other "save the world" side to that shit.

People do "undignified" shit all the time for jobs. Fuck i've had to root through people's toilets before doing plumbing work (charged the fuck outta them) and work doing construction with friends before.

Civilized dignity? Shit you'd think this thread was about blowing people in the back alley for gas money or some shit.



Shit you only give handjobs, dont put your mouth on that shit.

[Sup3rB4d]

Yeah, i don't know why anyone would take a steak out of a dumpster. That's just dumb.

How long are we going to keep doing this? Pretending people are grabbign anything they can find out of any dumpster they see, that is. It got old 7 pages ago.

What do you think people are taking? The only confirmed food dumpster diver in this thread(the guy that picks off the mold) you called an idiot. The guy in the documentary takes all kinds of unfrozen meats and mold infested fruits and veggies and he is about as hipster as it gets only shopping from the trader joes trash bins. Are most of the other dumpster divers more educated on food safety than these two or are they just the bad seeds in the dumpster diving community that give the whole shebang a bad name?

Honestly I assume you don't even dumpster dive and are only arguing that its a good idea because the OP wasn't doing a very good job defending himself. What would you be taking from the dumpsters if you were diving? (aside from unopened packages of chips that we all pretty much thought was ok)

[Bregor]

All I see is a self elevated sense of dignity with some people here. Some don't care either way about it, and some look down upon it like you motherfuckers live up in Trump tower snacking on truffles with gold toilet paper. Just because you do this shit doesn't mean you can't have any dignity. Shit some people who do this make 6 figures and this just to them is frugal *shrug* Get off your high horse, if it's not for you it's not for you, but dont look down on others because you somehow think you are the end all be all of humanity, and I won't even get into the whole "hippy" mode about how fucked up it is that our country wastes this much fucking food. It's not like you go around telling your boss you do this shit or bring it up at interviews or stand around with a sign, the thread was for tips for doing it not to raise a moral viewpoint over it, over if it's right or wrong, that's the whole other "save the world" side to that shit.

I think most of the posters in here are a. trying to be funny, b. deliberately taking the argument to extremes, or strawman for their personal enjoyment, c. in literal disbelief that people with internet access and devices (and presumably a history of paying monthly MMO fees, this being a FFXI forum originally and all) would eat food that was thrown out, regardless of what state it is in, or d. all of the above. I feel sorry for you if you were genuinely expecting tips on being a better dumpster diver.

Also, anyone making six figures who does this to be frugal, well, that's dumb. But no more or less dumb, in my opinion, than other inane hobbies. I'm not looking down on it, I just don't understand the allure.

[hey]

What do you think people are taking? The only confirmed food dumpster diver in this thread(the guy that picks off the mold) you called an idiot. The guy in the documentary takes all kinds of unfrozen meats and mold infested fruits and veggies and he is about as hipster as it gets only shopping from the trader joes trash bins. Are most of the other dumpster divers more educated on food safety than these two or are they just the bad seeds in the dumpster diving community that give the whole shebang a bad name?

Honestly I assume you don't even dumpster dive and are only arguing that its a good idea because the OP wasn't doing a very good job defending himself. What would you be taking from the dumpsters if you were diving? (aside from unopened packages of chips that we all pretty much thought was ok)

Who cares? Just because a lot of idiots do it, doesn't mean smarter people can't do it safely. Dumpster diving itself isn't really dangerous. Being an idiot is.

I don't do it. I don't have the means to. I have no car, and the nearest place i could realistically go is about 1.5 miles away, which is too far for me to walk. If i could reasonably do so, i'd consider it. The obvious choices to take are electronics and furniture. As far as food goes, i'd definitely be more cautious than some with that. Packaged chips and such past their sell by, dented cans. Bagels, donuts, etc from places that throw any left overs out at the end of the day. Stuff like that is typically a safe bet.

[dejet]

Unless you're retarded, there's no real health risk. It's 100x safer than some other things we all do every day, at least. And dignity is for suckers.

He was probably homeless. That's the wrong kind of dumpster to be diving in.

would you mind telling me the 100 other things I do daily that are as bad as looking and taking items from a germ filled(piss, bugs and out dated food).

Please do so, at least a person who drinks can say the shit is clean...Taking a jump start on what I think you are going to claim.

edit:

normal day for me as an fyi:
wake up in my clean sheet bed.
bath/shower
Eat food that is not from a dumpster
brush my teeth
shave
go to work
lunch that I got at home, once a week maybe pizza or something else
go to the gym
dinner again clean food, maybe eat out once a week again
brush teeth again
pool hall, bowling,bar,movie, some other event.

I mean what am I doing and about 90% of the rest of america thats not into crack doing that is as bad? I am going to skydive this week for the first time, you might have me there. I do not no, still think its safer then eating from a dumpster.

[miokomioko]

Why did this become solely about digging up food out of nasty food-filled dumpsters?

Go to where all the local tech-industry start ups and shit gravitate. You know those office buildings where there's a new company sign every other month. That's where you go to find weird/random/cool/borderline-valuable shit like computers/furniture/etc. and there's little to no gross crap to speak of as that type of trash is almost always disposed of separately from the items they gut out of office and such.

Also, lol at germs in general. The handrail on your average inner city subway is just about as harmful for you as a dumpster.

[dejet]

ill give you the tech company go for that if you want. I see no harm there.

And telling me that its as bad as a handrail, really? if anything tell me money ~_~

and I have an answer to that one if you really must ask.

[Yugl]

The complaint isn't against furniture or gadgets; the complaint is against food for a specific reason. Namely, the fact that you don't put your mouth on a handrail or computer. Battle of the strawmen go!

[notorious bum]

Sure are alot of healthcare specialists in this thread. Where's BG's resident GP when you need em?

[Eurell]

Doesn't really take a healthcare specialist to know eating garbage is bad lol.

[notorious bum]

Too bad the majority of expert consumers out there don't know most of their produce is actually painted-over garbage and their meat is equally bad for you. Unless, you're comparably smart to the dumpster-divers who know not to eat dumb shit, and only get your food from a local farmer or know your butcher(who does that?).

[hey]

would you mind telling me the 100 other things I do daily that are as bad as looking and taking items from a germ filled(piss, bugs and out dated food).

Please do so, at least a person who drinks can say the shit is clean...Taking a jump start on what I think you are going to claim.

edit:

normal day for me as an fyi:
wake up in my clean sheet bed.
bath/shower
Eat food that is not from a dumpster
brush my teeth
shave
go to work
lunch that I got at home, once a week maybe pizza or something else
go to the gym
dinner again clean food, maybe eat out once a week again
brush teeth again
pool hall, bowling,bar,movie, some other event.

I mean what am I doing and about 90% of the rest of america thats not into crack doing that is as bad? I am going to skydive this week for the first time, you might have me there. I do not no, still think its safer then eating from a dumpster.

Do you drive? You mentioned the bar, both drinking and being around drunk people is far more dangerous. Do you ever use stairs? 12k Americans die from those every year.

Life is dangerous. Most dumpsters aren't really any more dangerous than cooking, walking down stairs, driving, or living somewhere where earthquakes, hurricanes, etc occur.

[Salodin]

Too bad the majority of expert consumers out there don't know most of their produce is actually painted-over garbage and their meat is equally bad for you. Unless, you're comparably smart to the dumpster-divers who know not to eat dumb shit, and only get your food from a local farmer or know your butcher(who does that?).

Something tells me the food I can buy at my local walmart carries less of an inherent risk then the food these hobos are getting. Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm probably not.

To be fair though, there is a big difference between the food that is separated and left to the side for people to pick up, and the food that is thrown into a dumpster for people like bg hobos to sift through. If you are jumping in a dumpster, any dumpster, to pick out food, you need to reevaluate where your life is at this point in time.

[Cream Soda]

If you don't want to eat food out of the dumpster, then don't. More food for the ppl who do want to lol. I'm sure they don't mind that you aren't also doing it.

[hey]

If you are jumping in a dumpster, any dumpster, to pick out food, you need to reevaluate where your life is at this point in time.

Why? Because you don't approve? Because society has taught you that it's something only hobos do?

Something tells me the food I can buy at my local walmart carries less of an inherent risk then the food these hobos are getting.

Not much less. And depending on various factors, that may not even be true.