The article, “Not Buying It” in the New York Times, explains the concept of dumpster diving with a whole new perspective. People who dumpster dive, also known as freegans, may be smarter than we think. Freegans are people “living off consumer waste in an effort to minimize their support of corporations and their impact on the planet, and to distance themselves from what they see as out-of-control consumerism.” Coming from a family where I was taught not to waste food, I could not believe the amount of food freegans are able to scavenge off of the streets and in garbage cans. At first, it was surprising to me that the freegan culture of eating out of garbage cans is so prominent; yet, after further research, freegan’s actions are starting to seem a little more normal to me and actually maybe even practical.

The New York Times Article follows a group of NYU students who are trying out dumpster diving after the semester is over, and students have moved out. When I was reading this I was shocked at the amount of goods students were able to find in the trash and I was even more shocked that students even threw these items away in the first place! These dumpster divers found items such as a Sharp television, full cases of laundry detergent, a working desk lamp, and much more. This actually opens my eyes to the amount of perfectly good items this generation considers as waste. This wastefulness is the reason dumpster divers are so successful. After finding out how much can actually be scavenged out of the trash, I actually do not blame people for turning this into a culture. Why not take it if its legal, free, and in good to decent condition?

This article also mentions a more modern take on dumpster diving. There are actually websites available where people post their items online to give away and freegans can log on to claim these items for free. The website is freecycle.org. It is as simple as typing in your area code, and a list of free items pop up that are fair game to claim. I even found a 55 gallon fish tank, a sweater, and microwaves being given away just in my town, how crazy!