"It advises people to read the signs around the Dumpster, and warns that if there's a 'no trespassing' sign or if the Dumpster is enclosed by a gate or fence on private property, not to go diving.... The benefits outweigh the risks, [Travis] Flannery said, as he pulled a new dog crate from his storage unit in the basement of his Cross Plains apartment building. He estimated it retails for $100. He also recently found an aquarium and filters still wrapped in plastic. 'I used to be in the fish hobby,' he said. 'This is a rimless, glass fish tank, brand new. If I can’t sell it, I'll use it. Fish tank filters new are $40 apiece.' Also in his locker were bottles of soda, collectibles for children, tote bags, strings of lights, throw pillows, blankets, seasonal decorations, artwork, dog food, cat litter, pet toys, dozens of picture frames with the glass still intact and the unopened coffeemaker, which is sold online for $40. Flannery said he learns the return policies of some stores from their online posts. There are stores, he said, that will get a case of something and if one of the products has broken open, the whole case is thrown away instead of just the open one. 'Here's a case of bleach,' he said. 'Why throw this away? It's bleach.'... So far, he's been caught twice, first by a Madison police officer. Flannery said he was with a friend and the officer asked what they were doing. 'We explained to him that we were Dumpster diving and just looking for some stuff that retail stores throw away,' Flannery said. 'He asked us if we were illegally dumping or anything of the sort. We said, 'No, we are actually taking things.' And he told us to have a wonderful night.'"
From "Confessions of a successful Madison Dumpster diver" (Wisconsin State Journal).
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29 comments:
Why dumpster dive,when you can casually walk into any Walgreens and take whatever you want with no consequences..??
I have heard of hepatitis contracted from dumpster diving. There are reasons stupid things are often not legislated against, primarily that nobody able to walk and chew gum simultaneously does those things because they know better.
Can a reality show be far from debuting?
Dog food comes from people whose dog has just died.
I must confess.....
Probably the most awful case I ever observed in my medical career was of a man who was sleeping in a dumpster on a frigid night in Pax River, MD. in 1988. The collection truck came to dump it and partially severed a leg below the knee in the process. His condition was awful enough before the injury. He was flown to D.C., I don't know how the episode was resolved.
When I was a kid on the New England coast in the 1950s every town had a "dump" -- not a 'landfill -- where stuff which might be useful to someone else was put in the Discards section, compared to Trash, and Garbage, that latter meaning spoiled food and so on.
Every TV we ever had Dad and I scrounged at the dump. He was a self-taught electrical engineer and could immediately tell if one could be fixed with a few vacuum tubes and a bit of rewire solder work. He even fixed a few and gave them to neighbors who did not yet have one. Fixed others for free.
Not just TVs ... all kinds of stuff. Boys' clothing (I was the oldest, so no family hand-me-down); books (not a few of which ended up in the library my mother founded); tools; bicycles; radios; you name it. He'd take lots of stuff over the to Legion Hall, where other guys would fix the bikes, wagons and so on. Seeing thousands of newspapers in the Trash section he convinced the Legion guys to set up a newspaper recycling system, because in that era New Haven [population about 140 thousand] had both a morning paper and an evening one, each of which was at least an inch thick, on weekdays.
That's the way it was in that era, when the previous Depression was vivid in the memories of all adults. Poor Mum, however, never knew when Dad and I would bring back more than we took on a "dump run". He and I were such notorious dump-pickers that the running joke in our small town [pop 7500] was "Why do seagulls have such long wings ? -- To beat the Halls to the dump !"
At the Lopez Island dump, we had a “Take it or leave it”, where one could dispose of unwanted items (within limits) and take whatever one wanted. This reduced the volume of trash that had to be hauled and ferried off the island.
It free market recycling.
Can we all agree that Mr. Flannery has no woman in his life?
Seriously, though, these are meager and oddly specific little successes, and he's not telling us about the hundreds of times he's put his health at risk doing this and found nothing. Or the times when he's found food that had started to turn, but ate it anyway.
Bart Hall, your dad sounds like a good guy
Does Madison have a "pick up Lane" protocol?
in Ames, ANYTHING (usually sofas) left between sidewalk and the road; was in the "pick up" lane.
NO need to place a "free" sign on it; just place it in the pick up lane. Many people would drive around with trucks looking for free stuff.. PARTICULARLY on Aug1st*.
I have fond memories of looking for a new couch with my girlfriend back in 1993
We found a pretty good couch and loaded it up. As we were driving home, the girlfriend yelled STOP!
There was a MUCH Better couch** sitting by the road! So, we stopped; unloaded the 1st couch, a and loaded up the better couch. When i moved to West Union in 2018, i finally said good bye to that couch. 25 years is a long time for a free couch.
Aug1st* EVERY lease in Ames expired Aug 1st, so MANY MANY people had to move
Better couch** it was in front of a girls dorm. Obviously daddy had bought it for his little girl
I'm at an age when I don't want stuff, even if it's free. But if people want to search bins for useful items, go for it. Storing the stuff sounds like a PITA though.
Dems have been dumpster diving for years….
If he added up all the money he's made off dumpster diving and compared it to the cost of one significant injury/illness contracted from dumpster diving, which would be the larger number?
"Does Madison have a "pick up Lane" protocol?"
I've never heard that expression, but people do leave items out on the "terrace" for collection, and it's considered normal for people passing by to take things they want. Often a little sign "free" is posted on the thing to encourage scavenging. There's also an expression around here: "Hippie Christmas." It refers to the time when students are moving out of apartments and are therefore leaving lots of things at the curb. The city picks up what people don't take, but a lot of recycling is done this way. In our neighborhood, there's an email list where people talk about various things and they'll say sometimes when they are putting something out. They want it carted off as soon as possible and don't want stuff to get damaged.
The Wisconsin Alumni Association website has a page devoted to "Hippie Christmas."
“Save the Cheese!”
'Why dumpster dive,when you can casually walk into any Walgreens and take whatever you want with no consequences..??'
Great point.
If you don't want something in most neighborhoods, put it out on the curb with a sign, $100.
It will usually be gone by the morning.
We had a washing machine that developed a water pump issue - it became very slow. I couldn't find the issue and we were looking at getting a new machine anyway, so I placed on the curb with a "free (Slow water pump)" sign. No takers for over a week. So then I put a $25 (Slow Water Pump) sign on it and less than an hour later I had a guy asking about it. I explained the issue, and allowed if water temp didn't matter I'd just run the outside hose and fill it. He said he was handy and could eventually fix it, but had just moved here...I said look, I tell you what, if you can take it today, I'll let it go for free, given that you just moved and all. He was happy, I was happy, and the machine was happy.
So, IS it illegal in WI?
Seems like he's mostly doing a public service
Lucien said...
Can a reality show be far from debuting?
"Dumpster Wars", coming to Netflix next Fall
(Yes, that's a joke. I think)
Dumpster Diving, or as it's known in D.C., Build Back Better
In all of life there is risk and reward. One of the richest men I know is a professional scavenger. He is the Sun Tzu of scavengers. His real talent is to find potential. I like to repurpose wood. Going into construction dumpsters has risk from the moment I walk outside and crank the car.
A Taipei businessman long ago gave me an ugly carved wooden Chinese "foo dog".
My family hated it, as did my roommates before I was married. (I once found it in the fireplace. Hint hint.)
We have a lot of Chinese in our town, so I put the thing on the curb with a sign saying, "RESCUE ME!".
It was gone in fifteen minutes.
This is fantastical point. The world would be so much more tidy safe and efficient if everyone channeled their inner nebbish accountant.
Blogger tim maguire said...
If he added up all the money he's made off dumpster diving and compared it to the cost of one significant injury/illness contracted from dumpster diving, which would be the larger number?
Gosh, why do you want to move away from a nice place like Madison?
Having spent time on both coasts but mostly a midwestern here’s my take.
I set an old toilet (still usable) on the curb with a sign that said $10
West coast = next day it’s gone, but they left the sign.
East coast = A thug knocks on my door, says gimme $50 bucks and I’ll take the toilet away for ya.
Me -I say, you don’t understand I’m selling it for $10 dollars
Thug = see, you don’t understand, give me $50.
Midwesterner = knocks on my door and say, that sure is a nice toilet you got out dare, just what I’ve been looking for the cottage up-nort. Let me give you a $20, Mrs. going to be real happy with that one.
What makes for a "successful" dumpster diver?
Not ending up in a garbage truck?
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