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College Memories: Dumpster Diving
Dumpster diving? It sounds much worse than it is. Some of my best friends in college were close to being classified as 'Freegans'. They liked living under the radar and outside of the influence of capitalism. Lets admit it, most people are wasteful. Why shouldn't there be a subculture that thrives on the waste of others?
On the way home from a late night at the library my roommate asked me to stop at Zingermann's. But they're closed at 2am, aren't they? Yeah, exactly the point. We parked the car and went around to the back. We grabbed two large, tied bags of bread from the dumpster and carried them over our shoulders - the bakery equivalent to Santa Claus. Feeling in the spirit, we crept into the co-op homes of few friends and left several loafs for them to find in the morning. We stopped at a park near our apartment to share some bread with the homeless folks that stayed there. By the time we got home we still had too much bread for two people. We stuffed the freezer full and immediately started slicing up some bread to go with soup. Maybe you think that sounds ridiculous, but the bags were tied. The bread was only a day old. I ate the bread out of the freezer for at least a month. It was good enough.
Another friend asked me for a ride up to Trader Joe's late one night. Those dumpsters are virtually a gold mine of perfectly good 'expired' produce, baked goods, can goods, and even bottled wine. Thats right wine. We recovered two cases of Charles Shaw Merlot from certain doom. Not only did we get free food and spirits, but we made sure to recycle the bottles. Good for the budget and the environment! Even during my dumpster diving experiences I remain modestly reserved. I didn't like to dig -- I'd usually just go for sealed goods up at the top.
Some more pointers came from a traveler I cross paths with. Check the dumpsters of Little Caesars just after closing time - free Hot N Readys are right on top. Or maybe the dumpster of McDonalds as the menu changes to get left over breakfast sandwiches and hash browns. These things might be a little extreme (and unhealthy if you're going to McDonalds, yuck) but they aren't unreasonable. Especially if you're low on cash.
I think about going back to Trader Joe's sometimes. I'm all for reducing waste and saving money, but I'd hate to take the goods from other divers that might need them more. What do you think?
An afterthought:
Dumpster diving for food may be an extreme measure of frugality. We're all probably familiar with those trash hunters that find goods such as furniture and electronics by the side of the road. Whats wrong with that? I still live in a college town. The things you find by the side of the road here may actually be in better shape than what you have in your house. There are people that actually make a business out of collecting student trash in the spring then selling it back to them in yard sale form the next fall. Right on. I personally have more respect for the trash collectors than those that leave the goods by the wayside. Come on... at least donate it! There are at least 6 second hand stores in a 1 mile radius from campus. And at the very least, if you don't have a will or a way, please list your items on Craigslist under Free so that we can take them for you!
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If you like Amanda's post, here's the link: click here.
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