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/diy/ - Do It Yourself

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23693 No.23693 [Reply] [Original]

Dumpster divers!
Where's your favorite place to dive?

Pic unrelated, but kind of helpful.

>> No.23756

I've got a circle of magical dumpsters surrounding my apartment. Seriously, 13 of them. I've pulled an end table, a desk, 2 tv stands, a coffe table, a tv, a wine rack, 3 bookshelves, 3 aquariums(2 10 gallons and a 20), a surround sound system(no, really. It works), 4 bikes, 2 boxes of modern sci-fi and fantasy books and movies, and many other things. You should live where I live, OP.

>> No.23782

i used to live in a city full of huge $500,000 houses. it was fucking ridiculous the kinds of things they would throw away. i found a bench grinder, a cordless drill (with batteries and charger) and a dremel that all worked fine over the course of a summer.

fucking bourgeoisie

>> No.23810

>>23693
Dumpster Diver from the Gold Coast, Australia here, pretty sure i'm the only one in my area. Best place I find are dumpsters in lower middle class socioeconomic areas. Anything flash usually has CCTV and/or security personnel. Getting caught sucks not only because it's embaressing but you can't visit the place again because you've been given notice that you're trespassing. I also try to hit bulk food stores, they're renowned for selling food at it's near used by date. Unfortunately where I live though the bins are 50/50 locked up, and our stores do donate a lot of the food which has reached use by, so my pickings aren't as rich as american counterparts, but I don't mind too much.

>> No.23821

The best place i've found is university dorms after the semester lets out.

Kids throw out all kinds of perfectly good shit, just because they dont want to move it out with them.

>> No.23845

bump im so interested

>> No.23862

check out dumpsters around bread factories
theres one in town that is always full of unexpired bread. what happens is they restock the shelves and take the stuff thats a week old throw it away in the dumpster. they cant donate it because the food banks dont take perishable goods.
the one in town is country hearth bread, they sell a loaf for like 5 bucks in the store.

>> No.23881

>>23821
I found a 32" flat screen. The sound didn't work, but I already had a 5.1 system, so I just hooked it up to that.

Fuck yeah, rich kid school.

>> No.23892

>>23862
me again

i also found a place where the dunkin donuts guy would throw the day old stuff away. not kidding i could pull $150+ dollars worth of doughnuts out of that once a week. i would take them to work and shit, in the winter they were already pre-frozen, 30 sec in the microwave and they just like fresh.

>> No.23898

>>23862
Gold Coast fag here again, you'll want to hit bakeries and bread shops around 10-11pm. Any later than 1 and the bakeries have generally got people in them getting the bread ready for the next day. A good idea to find out when your local bakery opens is to check to see if it has job openings, usually a website or local job advertiser has job hours posted up. Pretty good guide for when trading hours start.

>> No.23935

I periodicity dive a local phone exchange dumpster. Have pulled a few useful things. Wifi router, a few modems, batteries, loads of wire, plugs, sockets, telco documentation, and so on.

>> No.23958

just curious, but isn't there a major filth factor going on?

>> No.23988

>>23935

I used to do this back in the late 80s and early 90s. All sorts of good stuff was to be had.

>> No.23994

>>23958
That's where your own discretion and luck come in.

>> No.23999

>>23958
Depends on how well you know your bins, generally you can tell which bags have general rubbish in them and which have food in them. Just make sure you don't grab stuff that looks bad or any melons or any fruit with pourous skin for that matter and you'll be fine. It's not really filthy at all, the bins are emptied almost daily, and if you take gloves you're pretty much protected. But again it's going to depend on the store that you raid. Commercial bins are usually cleaner but more hazardous, food bins less hazardous, bit more dirty.

>> No.24030

I haven't dumpster dived in a long time.
Used to just go to the lays distributing company. Would get trunk loads of chips for free.
And then they put security up.
):

>> No.24052

>>23999
What gloves do you wear?

I'd be worried about being pricked by a syringe or something. Anything like that happen to yous?

>> No.24064

Completely uneducated dude about dumpster diving here.

What is the purpose of doing it? Just to find good stuff to use yourself or sell?

>> No.24070

I used to work at a store that sold all kinds of stuff like candles, and furniture, and fine chocolates, and what not.

They threw out all kinds of shit. It was unbelievable. I'd been working there for about two weeks when I saw a giant dinning table, and about six chairs just lying on top of the trash. It was an older floor model, and one of the chairs had been damaged. I asked about it, and my boss basically told me that it was company policy to just throw shit like that out instead of selling at a discount or what ever. Then I thought there must be some policy that kept employees from taking this stuff. He said nope, and said I could have it if I wanted it. I guess no else there did. I really didn't have the room, or need for the table, but I kept tabs on what what being thrown away after that, and wound up getting all kinds of big, and little things absolutely free. Some times they threw out stuff that just hadn't sold in X amount of months.

The catch was that the dumpster was kept indoors, right up until the truck came to empty it. But perhaps some of you more tenacious divebros form some type of relationship with the stores like that. There's quality stuff in there.

>> No.24076

>>24052
I don't even bother with gloves, a little rubbish isn't a big deal to me. I'm not really worried about syringes, i'm not turning through medical waste it's mostly bins filled with supermarket overstock. Just make sure you bring a bright torch so you have good lighting to work under and you should be fine. Biggest worry really is the occasional pane of glass they might throw out.

>> No.24090

>>24064
The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving John Hoffman.pdf
>http://www.mediafire.com/?cv51x88yl9uducy

>> No.24099

>>24064
Well for me it's several things. On one hand it's using up food that might've gone to waste in a world where there are literally one billion people starving. Letting that food go to waste at least to me seems absurd in a world characterised by systematic food shortage. Secondly it's the thrill of going out and foraging for your food, it's actually incredibly fun and a great adrenaline rush. It's a great time for me to get exercise I take my pushbike out and go for a good 30k bike rides, great time to listen to music in the middle of the night and there are no cars to have to watch out for. and yeah it's also that dimension of getting free stuff, although it'd characterise that as a really secondary reason for going out and dumpster diving.

>> No.24103

>>24090
fuckingsaved.jpg

>> No.24107

Would walmart be a good place to dive?

>> No.24120

A resort club with millionaires, I am buddies with the head garbage man. The best grab I got was a 71 inch TV. It only turned on about 10% of the time, replaced a 50$ part, BAM new 1500$ tv

>> No.24124

>>24076
>a bright torch
What the fuck is wrong with you barbarians??

Flashlights seriously don't cost that much.

>> No.24151

>>24124
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=torch

>> No.24163

>>24107
dunno man, no walmarts in Australia, go check it out and see for yourself.
>>24124
I lol'd


anyways I gtg to uni, i'll be happy to answer any questions when I get back which probably won't be for a good 2 hours and providing the thread hasn't 404'd and anyone is still here.

>> No.24169

Industrial estates are always good.

All the things I've got are too long to list, so I'll give a vague description:

>computers and components, from 70s vintage terminals to P4 era deskop PCs
>general electronic goods (TVs, microwaves, radios etc.)
>office supplies (boxes of fan-fold paper, expired printer carts, water damaged boxes of pens that still work)
>furniture (office chairs, fileing cabinets, tables, desks, lamps)
>tools (full toolboxes, probably belonged to a layed-off or fired techie)
>home /diy/ stuff (light swithes, sockets, door handles etc. from a home-fitters)

>> No.24170

krispy creme has great donuts in the dumpster

>> No.24186

>>24107
walmart compacts everything has cameras and will call the cops
i'm not a pro but i m guessing no

>> No.24191

>>24170
This. And most of the time it's IN THE FUCKING BOX.

>> No.24302

I live near Oakland, which has tons of hipsters and homeless.

Think dumpster diving is feasible?

>> No.24309

I wish I had friends to dive with. It seems extremely awkward diving by yourself.

>> No.24355

Do you guys just go in dumpsters and search around the shit and trash they throw looking for something useful?
I mean, I'm not anyone to judge, but you have fucking internet and shit, isn't that too hobo-esque for you?

>> No.24368

>>24355
The internet doesn't give me free stuff.

Plus, we're doing society a favor, in a way.

>> No.24382

>>24355
what's "too hobo-esque" even mean? are you saying that we're "above" trying to be efficient and reduce waste? are you saying that throwing away and destroying perfectly good material is something to be proud of?

>> No.24397

I grew up in southern Ontario, used to get some good shit at ATI in Toronto, of course RIM and always got great manuals and shit from the recycling bins at MKS and a place called Watcom back then, now Sybase.

>> No.24407

there is a thrift store near me and people leave all kinds of stuff there i got a framed lamborghini poster, a cot, a computer chair, an ottoman, and a brand new BBQ set

>> No.24442

I've never done this, but I've heard a little about this. Like the guy posted up there about the endtables and shit, that sounds fine to me. Like a garage sale without the pay. but shit like FOOD? aren't you guys like.. worried? Like this:
>>24191
I sure would hope it's in the box. You guys are alright with getting food right out of the dumpster or something?

>> No.24483

>>24442
ive been eating food from the dumpsters at SA (sandwiches&donuts) and pizza from little cesars for over 3 years and havent even gotten a stomach ache i only grab donuts and sandwiches if they are in a fresh bag and not on the bottom of the dumpster, as for pizza i grab the boxes that are in the middle of the stack and not touching the sides.

>> No.24502

>>24442
Nothing ever happens as long as you've got common sense. Common sense being:
1. Treat meat with more suspicion than you would a child predator
2. Avoid mold

I got like ten packs of Oreos that I shared with friends over a month. Never a stomach ache. And it was free!

>> No.24503

>>24483
Dunno man. If there's anything you should spend your money on, it's your health and food, imo. Everything else is fine. All the more power to you though.

>> No.24516

>>24502
Yeah, I might be able to do it if it's sealed. But pizza boxes etc don't sound that great to me.

>> No.24521

>>24503
I don't believe you understand. The stuff being thrown out is perfectly good, unused food, supplies, and products. Rather than wasting money buying this stuff, you could get it from a dumpster. The word carries a negative connotation, but most of these big corporation dumpsters are very clean.

>> No.24526

Hats of too you guys, seriously.

>> No.24537

>>24442

you need to get rid of this mindset that everything in a dumpster is automatically slathered in feces in AIDS.

a dumpster is just a metal box. that's all it is. the only difference between food on the shelf at the supermarket and food in the dumpster behind the supermarket is twenty-four hours. it's literally the exact same food. it's just a day past the date. and i mean even if someone DID piss all over it or something like that, it would be pretty fucking obvious and easy to avoid.

>> No.24563

Where should I look if I'm trying to find the supermarket dumpsters? This thread interests me.

>> No.24575

>>24030
>security for trash

fuck the system.

>> No.24593

>>24575
This. Why the fuck is this done?

>> No.24598

>>24563
around back of cub and the likes, but be careful some places pour bleach on their shit to stop hobos (and us).

>> No.24617

>>24593
A while ago some dumpster divers sued a supermarket....they ate old veg they'd dived for and got sick. Even if they win the defense (and they did, of course), it costs them. They put some sort of security, that makes it clear that anyone taking the stuff is 'stealing', and they can't be sued.

>> No.24618

>>24593
Some people are extremely greedy and can't even share their trash, others is because the dumpsters attract drug sales and other shady business, and others because divers make huge messes and make it a bitch to clean up.

>> No.24624

how the fuck would dumpsters attract drug sales

>> No.24631

>>24624
Think about the places dumpsters are usually placed. Though that is more of a factor than the dumpsters themselves.

>> No.24632

>>24563
the bigger a supermarket chain, the narrower their margins and the less likely they are to expose themselves to the 'liability' of open dumpsters. smaller stores are best for scrounging.

>> No.24637

>>24631
nobody buys drugs outside, this isn't 1980

>> No.24644

>>24598
>>24632

thanks for your help both of you, might try the co-op.

>> No.24673

What's a good time to go dumpster diving?

>> No.24683

>>24673
depends when the store closes i say an hour after they close just to give them time to throw away everything and for the employees to leave.

>> No.24695

A lot of this varies where you live but I stayed in a few one street towns if you know what I mean and those are the best to dive in my experience. When Winn Dixie was open, every second Tuesday of the month they would dump all their vegetables and "expired" meats. I had one of those huge storage freezers and in a just a few months of diving there I had acquired enough meat to survive an armageddon. My only tip with that is make sure the meat hasn't fully browned, at least not from the center out, if it's around the edges it's OK to freeze and store for eatings later. Always smell the vegetables thoroughly, easiest way to confirm if they've become inedible.

Pizza Hut literally tosses out massive amounts of pizza every day, it's not hard to get three untouched mediums or at least if you're desperate a ton of mixed slices, some bags would have just pizza and some would have a mixture with napkins, silverware, and kitchen waste so be mindful.

Gamestop no longer has open container dumpsters anymore but there is at least two in my state that still do. You can usually find a bunch of shitty CD's, DVD's, or games. Hey, someone out there might buy that crap on eBay. Also it's where I got most of my cool game and movie posters.

And here's a random friendly food tip.

Goto any fast food restaurant, scan the parking lot for a receipt. Make sure the receipt is the same date. Go inside, present the receipt to an employee and say you just came by the drive thru and they left out a food item, hand them the receipt and badabing, free snack. I must have done this 50 times, and never have been rejected.

>> No.24703

I went dumpster diving at my university's library when they were purging their federal documents collection. I got tons and tons of cool publications; flight manuals, guidebooks for marines and the army, periodicals such as "problems with communism", and a booklet with the standing rules for the Senate. Also, I got a huge number of high-quality historical documentations on wars such as Vietnam, and transcripts for high-profile scandals such as Watergate and the impeachment of Clinton. Fun stuff.

>> No.24724

Trash days are every few months. Get some free shit. computers people break & don't know shit how to fix, furniture & some other shit as well.

>> No.24738

>>24703
I can share a similar story: I live near Cape Canaveral and decided to look through some of the dumpsters belonging to NASA contractors a few weeks after the last shuttle landed. I struck gold; tons of little parts made of magnesium, as well as odds and ends I can't even figure the purpose of, which look new. Not to mention tons and tons of very large schematics wrapped up in little tubes. I even saw a new-looking lathe but didn't have the capability to take it home nor store it, unfortunately.

>> No.24746

>>24738
Isn't it illegal to go through other people's trash? Aren't there law against this?

>> No.24749
File: 10 KB, 251x251, 1311737622244.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
24749

/diy/...you are my kind of people

>> No.24768

>>24746
nope only if the trash is locked or is in a locked area then it's technically trespassing or vandalism if you break a lock or something.

>> No.24772

>>24746
if you're throwing something away, it's pretty fucking obvious that you don't want it to be your property anymore. nobody chases the garbage truck down the street going HEY WHAT THE FUCK COME BACK HERE WITH MY STUFF YOU ASSHOLES, so why would they do that to a private citizen

>> No.24773

>>24746
The worst you can do is trespassing. When someone throws something out, they're legally wagering possession of it and taking it is perfectly legit.

>> No.24784

>>24746
Personal, not business.

Or atleast I think thats how it goes.

>> No.24814

>>24772
from what i gather, if a "diver" gets injured or eats something bad the store does not want to be held accountable for that

valid point though i think it more applies to personal garbage cans rather than companies dumpsters bra

>> No.24828

>>24090
A million internets and thanks to you anon.

>> No.24849

>>24814
of course liability is an issue but the fact of the matter is that in reality it takes a truly gigantic asshole to actually chase someone away from trash, and it takes an even more gigantic asshole to continue that chase

HELLO, 911

YES A GUY JUST STOLE MY TRASH

YEAH I HAD IT OUT BACK

WELL YES I WAS THROWING IT AWAY WHY DOES THAT MATTER

I WAS THINKING YOU COULD SEND A SWAT TEAM

WHAT DO YOU MEAN "NO"

STOP LAUGHING GODDAMMIT

>> No.24862
File: 40 KB, 640x480, jjj cigar.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
24862

>>24090
>The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving

MAH NIGGA! :D

Used to have that in hardcopy. Dunno what I did with it.

>> No.24873

Still curious if competition in certain areas makes this no good.

>> No.24875

dumpster diving works out well if there's a blockbuster closing their doors near you.
that's the only time I've gone dumpster diving

>> No.24881

>>24873
It depends on the area.

Read The Art and Science of Dumpster Diving. It has ALL THE THINGS, except computers, as I believe it was written in the early 90s.

>> No.24894

THE LEGAL QUESTION

It varies. Nation to nation, state to state, even city to city.

GENERALLY the worst that can happen is you are asked to leave. If you come back, you could be considered trespassing. Someone could also call the cops.

GENERALLY they are cool as soon as they see you are not spreading filth and digging for needles to jam into orphan kittens, but some will be dicks. Be cool, man. Be cool.

Someone asks what you are doing?
>Hi there! I am just getting some of these boxes.
>Just looking for anything interesting, you know? is that Ok?

We don't say "fuck off, square!"

So, 3 guideline:
Entering a can is last option.
Be careful.
Be respectful and do not make a mess in the area.

Me personally?
well, i poke around things now and then. There have been some scores, but also sadness (finding out that a nearby store routinely tosses a dozen rotisserie chickens and other hot foods into their compactor. "No, giving these away would be against corporate policy.")

Compactors are like the anti-joy for a diver. Instantly ruins anything put inside, and in the case of food waste, stays around long enough to cause horrible stenches instead of a comparatively "clean" often-emptied bin.

>> No.24939

There any particular times throughout the day that are best for diving? Like particular times when stores fill them up?

>> No.24976

>>24939
SA does it around midnight when they get the next day's donuts other places usually do it when they close or before they get new shipments just poke around at different times on different days to find out or ask the manager when they get the new shit "because you want the freshest food possible"

>> No.24978

>>24939
i get most of my stuff around 5 pm.

by 7 in my area most of the hobobros have cleaned them out of the desirable stuff.

>> No.24979

>>24939
At night after the store closed i'd imagine.

>> No.24985

>>24939
Gold Coast fag back. Best time to go is at night. Getting caught sucks, not only is it embarassing but if you're caught they'll generally ask you to leave, which means you can't go back to that dumpster again, because if you've been caught once and they've asked you to leave it's trespass, they could call the cops if they were a huge asshole about it. I also found out the hard way, you should always prepare a speech or at least something to say when you get caught, nothing worse than making shit up on the spot haha.

>> No.24996

>>24593

They're not mad that you're taking their garbage. They're mad that you're trespassing and they don't know who you are or what you might do.

They're not psychic. They don't know what you're doing there, and even if you tell them they don't know if you're telling the truth.

>> No.25004

an excuse I usually use is that my bracelet fell off while I was throwing my stuff away

>> No.25020

>>24881
I'm actually reading it right now, and it says that Southern California is one of the worst places to try.
Fast forward 20 years and place yourself in Berkeley California. I dunno; seems dicey.

Maybe I'll just have to take the venture.
Hopefully I haven't started too late for this.

>> No.25041

>>24976
SA is only in 9 states, but all gas stations do the same I'd guess.

>> No.25230
File: 64 KB, 640x480, farmerslooptransfersite.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
25230

Alaskafag here, in my particular town we have multiple borough-operated transfer sites that have dumpsters as well as a covered pad areas where people are encouraged to drop off reusable items. It's kind of the best thing ever, I go at least a couple times a week. Best finds I've had was a full Kenwood surround sound system complete with subwoofer, and an old portable Playstation with an LCD screen, which was actually inside one of the dumpsters.

I don't know if they do this anywhere else in the States, or world, but it's an awesome and extremely popular system!

Shitty pic related, it's all I could find online.

>> No.25497

>>24090
One word of advice-the guy's politics are all over the place.

Ignore the politics, use everything else.

>> No.25568

>>25230
fellow fairbanksan here, transfer sites are the fucking bomb

>> No.25756

>>24881
>>24862
>>24090
>mfw that guy was gay.

>> No.25758

oh

>> No.27352

bump

>> No.27363

I'd just like to point out that this violates global rule #1 since dumpster diving is illegal with few exceptions, and in many cases is treated the same as soplifting.

Moot, mods, are you fucking getting it yet? Do you see how stupid the "no discussion" rule is?

>> No.27390

>>27363
lol no it's not

i've been scrounging for about ten years and i've yet to be arrested

DESPITE DOING MY DASTARDLY DEEDS OF DASHING DERRING-DO IN DIRECT DAYLIGHT

>> No.27400
File: 40 KB, 500x650, mac-usb-wifi-adapter-imac.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
27400

outside my university got like 8 macs prestine condition for the most part had to repair a mobo or two nuthin major might sell em not sure,not a huge fan of mac products but free computers i mean cmon,also schools/city buildings

>> No.27401

Don't do this for private trash bins, people. That is definitely illegal in most of the United States and probably elsewhere. It violates privacy in a big way. "But they're throwing it away!" Yeah, but there's still an expectation of privacy all the way to the dump site so you're breaching that. You can tell a lot about a person by what they throw away, and some of the stuff that makes it to the trash can be used in other crimes like fraud and identity theft so depending on what you're seen with you very quickly escalate past "slap on the wrist."

Dumpster diving is strictly for DUMPSTERS ONLY.

>> No.27422

>>27401

i don't know whether you live in Prickville or Asshole City, but in southeastern Michigan I have never been hassled by anyone while liberating their garbage, nor have I ever encountered the 5-0 while diving, regardless of how the land was zoned. The cases involving invasion of privacy, as I recall, were filed against a police department for using the contents of a woman's trash as evidence in a case despite not having procured a warrant to do so. This is an entirely different matter from "I think I'll see if there's any neat gizmos here". It's illegal in the same manner as jaywalking. Nobody will ever care unless you're being a gigantic asshole about it

>> No.27434

>>27401
man i ask anyway places dont care less "trash" for their trash bill

>> No.27454

>>27422
My advice is "don't toe the line. Don't even look directly at the line. Play on these slides and not in the sandbox, you could find poop in this sandbox."

>> No.27473

I don't actively look through dumpsters but I watch the curbs when I jog, and I check out garage sales in my neighbor hood on the weekend.

Found a sweet retro wicker basket last weekend and bought a vintage 1930s shoe shine box full of shoe shine equipment for $7 at a sale.

>> No.27478

>>27422
>>27454

There's also a difference between quickly snagging something out in the open at the curb and digging through someone's trash can. I don't know too many people who would get pissed and call the cops if you took a large item they had clearly put out at the curb for the trash collectors to take.

>> No.27708

Live near a upscale gated neighborhood. They are always tossing out great shit! TV's, Xbox, Computers, furniture, etc.

Well obviously my first problem was that the community was gated, but I found my way in though a wooded area with enough coverage to hid how I was getting in and to keep the suspension off me. The second being how to transport what I find. I worked in a system of putting shit on a cart attached to a bike.

I only make my runs at night the day before the trash-men show up, that way the community thinks the trash-men are getting rid of their shit. I also only touch things on the side of the road, because getting caught with your arm (literally) in someones trash is begging for trouble.

I sell most of what I find online, the rest I keep if I really like it.

>> No.27866

>As to the concerns for the questionable legality of dumpster-diving.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumpster_diving#Legal_status

TL;DR version:
Depends on where you live.
In the US, there is "there is no common law expectation of privacy for discarded materials"
In the UK, Italy, and Germany, it's considered theft, but actual enforcement may vary.
And in all cases, trespassing laws may or may not apply.

>> No.27965

Oh man, I used to go dumpster diving with my dad when I was young. It was so fun. The best is the back of second hand shops, where donations are dropped off.

My dad and I have found a silk komono, neat desks, a cricket cage, and we used to go to the dumpsters at the back of a wood working shop. We found like buckets of industrial glue and tons of sandpaper.

Was very cool.

>> No.27981

It's ironic .. we are a major IT shop and we throw away literally tons of perfectly good 3yr old (lifecycle) equipment (we're talking Cisco 65xx switches, Sun servers, Core2 dessktop/laptops) .. it all has to be ground up and recycled as scrap .. because data loss is too big of a risk and wiping takes too much time.

>> No.28082
File: 128 KB, 1096x720, 1306698327843.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
28082

This sounds like fun. I think I'll check out my local co-op like the other anon mentioned earlier.

>> No.28192

At the store I work at, it's policy to chase away dumpster divers. I'm not a fan of it, but the main reason is people try to return things we've tossed, steal old reciepts, steals things on those lists and return them for cash, and almost always leave a massive fucking mess.

People around here aren't /diy/ bros.

>> No.28263

>>24030

same here, lays dc in FL. fuckin weird.

>> No.28322

>>23782
This. Go to the rich neighborhoods the night before garbage day for the mother lode.

My local "Eco-station" used to keep all the computers people junked in a bin outside. I would go there with an old comp and pick up 2 or 3 that looked promising, strip them of all their good bits, then repeat. I kept myself in reasonably up to date hardware for a few years until they moved the computer bin inside and started supervising it.

>> No.28376

My friends and I used to go to dunkin donuts right after closing and open up the bags of donuts. Best donuts I ever had.

>> No.28557

>>24090

I love it when i see this posted. Guy is my uncle.

>> No.28692

>>25230
What part in Alaska, I just moved up here.

>> No.28798

>>28557
Let him know that people still find it to be just fantastic. I've only read a bit, from its posting in this thread, and I love his voice and approach.

I was actually just thinking I'd like to google the author and see what else he's done.

>> No.28899
File: 20 KB, 400x400, 1319524431710.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
28899

>>25230
Someone threw out a working surround system and a PSP ? Such cruel people.

>> No.29102

I have skimmed through most of the thread and didn't see a good explanation as to why companies try to stop you from dumpster diving. Besides "fuck the system they hate us".

What some of you don't get that most of the time the food thrown away will still be sealed. It's perfectly fine to eat and probably still sealed shut in plastic wrapping.

Now they can't go around saying "here, have our perfectly fine food we don't get to sell because people are pussies about the expiry date" because then many would just do that and not buy it in the store anymore.

So unless they want to basically give away their products for free they have to stop you from diving their dumpsters.
Trespassing is another issue, I guess.

>> No.29120

Any tips for a newbie that I won't find in that book?

>> No.29130

>>29102
Why companies don't like dumpster divers:
It is the first step in a lot of frauds and return scams.
It creates a mess.
It opens the company to liabilities.

Et cetera.

>> No.29313

>>23892
This one made me lol. Prefrozen winter garbage food just microwave the homeless away. And pass out to coworkers. Trilolooo

>> No.29344

Tim Horton's throws out Assloads of delicious baked goods at the end of the day. My little brother worked there and he said they weren't allowed to take home/give away the old stuff, but I went back a few times and got me some bagels. Problem is, they tend to close at 1 am. Also, they have their dumpsters in a little enclosure you need to clear. (read: hop the gate)

>> No.29428

Once found a motor scooter that only required a battery recharge outside a place i used to work.

Wtf?

>> No.29452

>>29428
You stole someone's scooter, asshole. They probably just left it because they had to get someone to rush them home and get a new battery. Or they were drunk. No one throws away something that just needs a recharge. No one.

>> No.29965
File: 172 KB, 588x575, 1316937336182.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
29965

Sweet tread. Gotta love /DIY/, yo.

>> No.30834

I was inspired to try dumpster diving by this thread.
I was out for about two hours and checked in 20+ dumpsters. It was mostly food scraps and paper cups, and a lot of them were empty. But, I got a new pair of gloves, and a nice young man working at Subway thought I was homeless and gave me a bag of cool ranch dorittos.

>> No.30840

>>29452
Apple users.

>> No.30928

>>23693
>when I have excess scrap metal laying around I put it on the curb and put an ad up on the craigslist free section and title it something like "cast iron scrap metal" or "aluminum scrap metal" and just put my street with no house number. I could try to build up enough scrap metal for it to be worth taking in, but it would take me a long time. Worked out really well when I needed to get rid of a bad engine block and I don't have a truck to move it anywhere two guys in a truck showed up not 30 minutes after I put the ad up and I got about 5 e-mails asking if It was still available.
> Where I used to work I would set any large scrap metal next to the dumpster because a man and a woman would come by every day in a beat to hell pickup truck, and the woman would get out and lean over into the dumpster, nobody really cared that they did that but I always felt bad.
>I work at a used car lot now and we reposes cars, a lot of times people never come to collect the crap that they left in their cars, I get tools, gift cards, cell phone accessories, shitloads of change, audio cables, brand new packages of stuff, and all kinds of other crap

>> No.30950

One time I was panhandling these pizza workers when they where taking a smoke break and they gave me some bad ass breadsticks, no change though.

>> No.30972

Goodwills often through out all kinds of cool stuff.

>> No.30974

I work at a grocery store chain (Major one) and our trash cans are covered completely with a compactor that destroys anything. Besides that our only trash compactor has everything in it; rotten fruits, meat and blood, bleachs and cleaners. I wouldn't advise ever getting anything out of a compacter style dumpster (If you can even gain access to it)

On the other hand I have gotten stuff we would have thrown away for free (I work in produce, free fruit every day)

Feels good man.

>> No.32057

>>25230
they had one of those where i used to live in north carolina, and these fucking old people ruined it for everyone. they would sit there like vultures and attack like gypsies over anything, the cops got called when they beat the shit out of a little kid for getting in the way of this fat old child molester and his wife. they were after some Christmas ornaments in June. i had one old man hiss at me like a giant rat. you could find some seriously amazing shit there, but most of the time the old people would just show their asses and have the cops tape the area off for a week.

>> No.33953

>>32057
where in NC? I'm here for a few more months.

>> No.35289

Bump.

>> No.35298

elderly people towns,people would throw away things they had for 20+ years. i got a vinyl record player with stereo receiver along with it.

>> No.35368

Can I get some fellow Britfags advice on this?
Experiences, locations and times of any sort would be nice.

>> No.35393

>>24894
also, say you're looking for aluminum cans

>> No.35409

I'm relatively new to dumpster diving, but I've never come home without a great loot. Bakeries have in my experience been quiet good. Day-old bread packed away in bags, in a dumpster that isn't used for else, is luxury compared to diving at supermarkets.

>> No.35797

Here's a tip
Use freecycle if you dont want to get messy,
It's a site where local people give away stuff.
I've got a kenwood chef and a snooker table once, they have some pretty sweet stuff, only in UK though

>> No.36402

>>35797
Nah dude, I'm in Kansas and I've been signed up for my community's Freecycle network for years.

>> No.36448

Always go to dumpsters next to donut shops.
I know it seems gross but all they do at the end of the day is throw away all the donuts they didn't sell, usually into 1 bag. Most are still fucking delicious, but the cream always get smashed.

>> No.37806

bump

>> No.37828

Local freecycle around here is mainly shit, like compost and baby stuff.
However, we have a local household waste site sorted into metal skips for recycling.
1 skip is binbags full of sick shit, but there is a small building where people dump shit that is actually good.
Have got touch screen computers from there, ipods, a camera and a USB sound card for free.
Also free bikes and TV shit.

>> No.37841

I live in a third world country. Our waste is not full of useful things and neither we have "dumpsters" as everyone puts trash bags outside

>> No.37854

I've dived in the Panera Bread and Dunkin Donuts dumpsters every once in awhile. I've tried looking on curbs of rich neighborhoods and dumpsters of nice stores but it always yields nothing for me. Tried Pier 1 awhile back, they slash up all their furniture! I don't know where I'm supposed to be looking. I feel like Wal-Mart or Target would be a terrible idea, backs of thrift shops are usually locked (and besides, I feel like it'd be a 30 minute shit dive to find something sort of cool). I've heard of people diving on college campuses when the spring semesters are over?

tl;dr I live in a small town, everything sucks.

>> No.37862

>>37854
College campuses are fantastic for large items from may-august, but mostly at the extreme ends of that time frame.

Couches, tables, cabinets, recliners, matresses, mini fridges carpet, desks, etc; anything that seniors and and transfers can't cram into their cars. I live in a college town, and drive through campus once in a while. Usually find mini fridges with broken door seals or switches or something else simple. I used to fix 5 or 6 a year, slap some chalkboard paint on them, and put up an ad for them on campus corkboards. Usually went for $40-$80, but i'd barter with poorfags for shits and giggles.

>> No.37920

>>25230
FBXbro, that place is rad. I like the Chena Pump Road location. Nice houses in the area, and not picked over as frequently. here's a map of all the transfer stations: ftp://co.fairbanks.ak.us/Maps/Maps/transfer_stations_map.pdf

>> No.37925

>>37862

>College campuses are fantastic for large items from may-august, but mostly at the extreme ends of that time frame.

Careful when going to colleges and you find something that can be identified as being from the university. A buddy and I got some nice couch-chairs from one of the university dumpsters, and some housing manager guy saw them in our pickup truck in traffic and followed us until we got to a red light. Then he got out of the car *in traffic* and knocked on our window and told us to take it back or he'd call the cops. He called the cops anyway, and when we got back there, we had to stand around trying to convince six police officers that we were just dumpster diving and didn't steal it from someone's unlocked room.

>> No.37938

Are curb alerts on Craigslist generally reliable? I don't know if people generally pick up the curb stuff quickly. I only see ones far away from me, and I never bother because I don't want to waste a drive over to something that might already be gone.

>> No.37948

http://youtu.be/H7NzeITd8Ps?t=46m30s

always been interested in this since i saw it in this program

probably even better to do now that i'm in sheffield, near a load of shops like m&s, tesco, staples, waitrose

only things probably worth looking at back home was a tesco express, a chip shop and a cafe, althought they were next to a hairdressers and a vets so i'd hate to get a handful of hair or dog shit

>> No.38000

Dumpsters behind second hand stores.
Dumpsters at university, [Art / drama department, Architectural,]
Construction / Demolition dumpsters.
Loading docks of companies, talk to the supervisor, they usually have all sorts of things waiting to be trashed. [I got a drafting table from one, along with a drafting machine.]
Dumpsters or curbs, near university or college dorms, and apartments. Moving day, at the end of the winter semester is the best time. sometimes you'll find great third hand finds, or even almost new things, that spoiled rich kids don't care about.
landlord's refuse trailer [old microwaves, computers, televisions, random furniture.]
Work for a moving company or a student trash collection business, you can find all sorts of goodies that people don't want anymore.

Alleys near universities and colleges, not all students live in dorms, and when they move they sometimes just toss really good things
alleys behind apartment buildings are really good too.

>> No.38110

Fuck, do I miss diving. I used to do it with a close friend, but then she got a boyfriend and became a vapid whore. Anyway.

On my first dive behind a Dollar General I found a working DVD player that was still in the box. I gave it to my mom.

I haven't dived at all recently, it's such a bad idea to go alone.

>> No.38132

Somewhat related,

When I was a kid there was a large dumpster that my friends and I would dive in every weekend. One week around christmas time there were about 10 copies of a Playboy magazine, perfect condition except a bit wet.

>> No.38142

>>23862

Dumpster-diving around pastry factories = delicious doughnuts for free.

>> No.38160

not entirely related, but IKEA has a section with cheap shit that's broken, leftover parts, screws, etc.

>> No.38182

>>30972
This. Thrift stores, especially in donation heavy seasons like around Christmas, are goldmines. We've found keyboards, drum machines, clarinets, paintball guns, and all sorts of stuff in the local Goodwill dumpster.

Also, Food Lion doesn't use trash compactors at any of their locations from my understanding.

I'm stoked that there are actually other divers here, I guess I'll stick around /diy/.

>> No.38216

>>38182
food lion doesn't use compactors?
I propose we start a list of grocery stores sorted by company trash policy. I don't know if any of you guys ride the rails, but when you get into a new region that doesn't have your usual chain stores, it's sorta confusing. I mean, you figure it out, but it'd be cool to have a list. From there, we could take the information and map out chains by their regional domination, and know what areas of the country are best and worst for diving.

I know we already mentioned, Aldi is a hotspot for sure. As is Trader Joe's.

>> No.39205

Semi-related, I've dived a couple of times, but never found anything good in dumpsters, however, as we speak, it is Hard rubbish season. (ausfag here) which means that just about everybody puts out their stuff they don't want on the nature strip and the council comes and collects it. In the past week i've salvaged
A working bar fridge
A pair of jumper leads
Two homebrew barrels
A working toaster oven
A nice barstool
two bikes
A full can of Silvo
And a bunch of other shit that i forget.
I like to think of myself as an active recycler. God damn i love this board.

>> No.39393

>digging in the trash

Are you guys poor or something?

>> No.39427

>>39393
yep, student @ uni.

>> No.39685

one day you will all have to fight with a hobo who wants to dive, too

>> No.39844

As a few others have said, it's not really companies WANTING to be dicks about preventing dumper diving. It's the people that ruin it and try to be greedy. We have to slash boxes, take stuff out of packaging etc. just so people don't come in and say 'Hey I bought this and I want a refund' when it's obvious we just threw it out. Some people..