"One man's trash is another man's treasure" is one of the most famous aphorisms in the English language.
It's usually used metaphorically. But on occasion, its original, literal meaning still rings true, which was the case in a recent Reddit post in r/DumpsterDiving.
The original poster shared a haul of food and underwear they recovered from a dumpster. It was an ad hoc method of grocery shopping that the OP resorted to because of an extremely tight budget.
"Due to financial hardships, my gasoline budget is cut in half," they wrote in the caption. "That means half as many dumpster searches. Disability poverty is a real struggle. But free food is a savings grace."
The dumpster diving subreddit can be a useful resource. It documents divers' finds and highlights the large amounts of perfectly good food and materials stores throw out regularly.
These goods are at risk of ending up in landfills, exacerbating an already horrendous trash problem in the U.S.
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The Environmental Protection Agency has stated, "U.S. landfills released an estimated 119.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of methane into the atmosphere in 2022; this represents 17.1 percent of the total U.S. anthropogenic methane emissions across all sectors."
The Environmental Defense Fund also reported that methane has 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide. This makes methane a huge factor in the rapid rise of global temperatures and increased extreme weather conditions.
Dumpster diving is one way for individuals to combat the scourge of landfills, overconsumption, and general waste. But the practice can have legal consequences, particularly if it occurs on private grounds.
For those who follow best practices, however, dumpster diving can provide diverse benefits — including reducing waste and sourcing free items.
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Heck yes 👍 Commenters were very encouraging, praising the poster's finds and their resourcefulness.
"I'm sure you were happy finding those cookies!" one user wrote. "Free cookies are awesome."
"You are doing good for now," a top-rated comment read. "And with cooler weather, there will be more safety in dumpster diving produce and grocery. Best wishes to you."
Another response simply wished the original poster well: "Looks fantastic. Great stuff. Enjoy it all. May the [dumpster diving] gods bless you."
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