Dumpster diving is the practice of foraging for food and other goods that have been thrown out. Lucky divers find perfectly fine food and rescue it from the landfill. One practitioner took to the r/DumpsterDiving subreddit to share their incredible find, demonstrating why it can be so fruitful.
The post, titled "I think they threw out an entire shipment of produce," was accompanied by several pictures featuring many boxes of food.
Underneath, the caption read, "I ended up with around 10 boxes of avocados, 10 boxes of strawberries, 7 boxes of mandarins, 8 boxes of grapes, 4 boxes of carrots, a case of lettuce, cantaloupes, jalapeño peppers, cucumbers, a small fridge worth of meats, and a few other things."
The original poster goes on to say what they were going to do with the huge dumpster haul. "It would have all ended up in the landfill tomorrow morning. I save what I can and give away or donate the rest. I have dropped off 4 carloads of food already this year."
Of course, dumpster divers can find more than just perfectly good food. Another poster shared that they discovered thousands of dollars' worth of working game consoles and controllers behind an electronics store. Another diver found a ton of perfectly good children's items that they were able to rescue and use in their home.
Food waste and spoiling are huge problems in the United States. In fact, according to Feeding America, 92 billion pounds of food are wasted every year. This is especially heartbreaking since so many people continue to go hungry every day. But some are finding ways to try to reverse this trend.
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Dumpster diving can be a great way to save money and discover fine items being discarded. However, it is important to be aware of your surroundings before engaging in the practice. You should wear protective gloves and eyewear to prevent injury. And you should be aware of any local rules and regulations to make sure you aren't violating them.
Another way to avoid waste besides dumpster diving is to know your local recycling options. Properly disposing of items will help limit waste.
Commenters on the post couldn't believe the find. One said, "Amazing! Thank you for salvaging and donating so much!"
Another lamented the waste, writing, "Unbelievable the amount of food wasted when so many people are struggling to put food on the table!"
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