Attached.

Running Head: DUMPSTER DIVING

1

Dumpster Diving
Name
Instructor’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course Code
Date

DUMPSTER DIVING

2
Dumpster Diving

Dumpster diving refers to the process of looking for treasure from other people’s trash
containers. Dumpster diving is accounted for by the law and is only illegal when one makes a
mess, is disrespectful or trespasses. Most people associate dumpster diving to the homeless.
Their attitudes revolve around dumpster diving as a way of obtaining food and shelter as
dumpster divers are low income earners. This essay seeks to explore dumpster diving. It will
correct myths on dumpster diving as an option for the homeless in the society.
In order to confirm the preconceived perceptions about dumpster diving, I decided to
interview two I met scavenging so as to gain their opinion on the matter. Peter, a 26 year old
student dives on bins especially those located behind retail stores. He claims that his reasons
for dumpster diving or scavenging as it is famously referred to, is to rescue discarded food.
Peter maintains that he has been doing so for the past 3years and it his way of life. He claims
that it is critical to analyze why something is discarded.
On the other hand, Joseph undertook an expedition that made him to be broke in the
middle of the journey. He was forced to eat food from dumpsites until he got back home. Can
Joseph and George be termed as homeless? The homeless are believed to rummage through
trash cans in the hopes to gain money and food to sustain themselves. The numbers of the
homeless are exceedingly high especially in states like North Carolina. It is vital to analyze
the root cause of homelessness so as to understand the relationship between homelessness
and dumpster diving.
Most homeless people are prejudiced as substance abusers or people with many
disorders. On the contrary, homeless people constitute people who have unsteady incomes
who can barely buy or rent homes. This means that their income cannot sustain their basic
needs. Poverty however is one of the foundations of homelessness. The homeless can be

DUMPSTER DIVING

3

divided into 3 namely can scroungers, dumpster divers and scavengers (Ferrell, 2006). The
difference between the three is that dumpster divers navigate trash cans for valuable product,
scroungers tear up the garbage cans without regard for valuable property while scavengers
selects what they can take and leave valuable items in the dumpsite.
Dumpster divers claim that dumpsters are usually full of good stuff and not trash as
commonly expected. Dumpster divers collect cans or recyclable materials for sale. The cans
and metals provide a source of income for various dumpsters. The stereotype that dumpster
diving is meant for the homeless is baseless and biased. Dumpster divers are made up of
resourceful individuals and not the homeless people who scavenge trash cans for anything.
Dumpster divers are organized individuals who know what exactly they are looking for.
With the rise in affluence, consumers changed their buying habits. Consumers began
to buy goods so as to prove that they belonged to a certain status but not for what they really
needed. This was attributed to the marketing of goods that made people buy for the sake of
obtaining something newer and better. The result is that people discarded the items they no
longer needed regardless of whether it was used or not. In fact, most dumpster divers are said
to lead better lives. Some are bread winners in their respective households.
So what drives dumpster divers to decide to navigate through trash for garbage? Some
dumpster divers are not driven to dumpsters because they are poverty stricken or homeless
but because of the value dumpsters possess. Businesses like bakeries throw away tasty
products into their garbage cans even before they expire. Statistics indicate that a huge
percentage of food is not consumed therefore leading to an increase in the amount of landfill
waste. The waste generates methane gas emissions which contribute to environmental
pollution. There are limited avenues to reduce land waste fills product by the companies.

DUMPSTER DIVING

4

Dumpster diving is one of the avenue...