This story originated when answering an online question, “WANTED: part-time job with little to no experience. *** Without giving this question a second thought, the idea of dumpster diving came to mind.
I asked this fella, ‘Where did you get this good stuff?’ Of course, he shily admitted: ‘In a dumpster.’ Now you have to picture my first impression of diving in a garbage dumpster, and it wasn’t a pretty thought.
Until then, I had no idea where this fella in question acquired his unusual treasures and resold them to unsuspecting buyers.
But, this part-time and lucrative gig as a dumpster diver could be an interesting hobby to some people, and that brought me here, writing about his adventures, but first, I’m doing a little online research.
AI weighed in with this assessment.
- Dumpster diving is not necessarily a waste of time as the title suggests; its value depends entirely on individual goals and circumstances. Many people find it a highly rewarding activity for saving money, reducing waste, and finding unique items, while others encounter health risks, legal issues, and minimal useful finds
Now taking into account what AI had to say and me thinking about this unorthodox way of making extra (greenback) money, or in his case, accumulating more junk in his garage. I have to admit, some of my car projects come from places like this. I’ve found a few interesting items myself in dumpsters.
So now folks, I’ve publicly admitted that I’ve participated in such activity. Now it’s only fitting to tell you my story:
My dumpster diving adventure started here at an auto parts dealer. I suspected there was a security camera spying on and watching my every move like a criminal in the night. But it was in a trash bin called a dumpster.’ I thought to myself, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.’ All this stuff was discarded for a reason, so I waved to whoever was on the receiving end of the security camera and carried on looking for valuable, discarded and interesting throw-aways.
*** Now I’m giving this dumpster diving a little more thought. The complex where I reside has regulars doing the dumpster diving trick. ***
Every evening, the people go through the same routine, ‘you know how it goes,’ jumping inside the dumpster and picking away at anything that fits their fancy. Even saving anything metal-related for salvaging $$$ dollars. Sometimes, at the end of any long weekend, they would accumulate bagloads of discarded beer bottles and aluminum cans for $$$ returns.
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- In reality, ‘you could consider this activity a ‘new wave of part-time recyclers.’ Why, you ask? Because they only pick out items that can be used for recycling or selling, rather than the usual, filling up the landfill.
So truthfully, and only on special occasions,’ I have found myself doing dumpster diving, ‘with a purpose.’
Before I wrap up this story, here is another.
*This unorthodox way of a part-time recycling gig, jogs the memory of another related story. *
This hard-working lad had a respectable job as a ‘sanitation engineer’ for the city, formally known as a (garbage collector, trash collector, trash hauler and, across the pond, “bin men.”)
He gets disillusioned with, ‘Why would people throw away such good items?’ Daily, he and his colleagues would fill their cab full of perfectly good and usable items from among the daily refuse destined for the landfill.
Small antiques, lamps, tin toys from the 60s are the most lucrative items he’s found. He had a list of phone numbers of collectors or novelty shops around the city, looking for items of interest. They, too, wonder why people would throw out such worthy items. He considered these collectible items his best scores.
- One more interesting thought I should add to my article, ‘on many occasions, they would supplement their income from discarded, ‘good stuff.’
In reality, if you look outside the box, it seems to be human nature to like change. After four years of car payments, it’s not uncommon to find people buying something newer, but not for the reason you would assume; it’s because of the tired-looking “same old colour scheme.”
Another fine example would be: when people do their spring house cleaning, and in that spontaneous and weak moment and on a nice sunny day, they throw out many good items along with the bad. In the end, days later, they wish they hadn’t, but they did. There’s that human nature element again.
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So in reality, maybe the ‘dumpster diving term’ might be getting a bum wrap. That’s recycling in its best form.
But now I have this dumpster diving term in my mind, and now, writing about it, I’m hearing and reading all kinds of stories of people doing such a thing. YouTube videos have many flicks with thousands of views of people doing such a thing as a part-time ‘hobby.’ Maybe for a little mad money and maybe finding some really neat stuff, or just a new wave recycler.
Conclusion
Take this last example story by Lettecha Johnson.
* She starts by saying: A world of treasures may be waiting for you in your nearest dumpster.
One Redditor discovered gold, an 18-karat Cartier gold necklace.
Without properly searching, they may have missed it, as it was buried under two-by-six building material. Depending on the style, a Cartier necklace can retail for up to five figures.
Remember these stories as a motivator next time you decide to dive into a dumpster; it can prove to be a lucrative pastime. But when you par-tak in such activity, remember one thing… ‘WEAR GLOVES’ “You just never know”.
There you have it, folks, turn trash to gold, to treasures to dumpster diving.
So ‘Is Dumpster Diving Worth Your Time or Just a Waste?’ Well, you decide.
Thanks for Reading.
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