Can't say I have ever dumpster dived. I have picked up second hand things from friends and family which I repaired and made good use of.

You guys would not like seattle it is a competitive sport here and we even have a shop that is trendy because they only sell items they find in the streets and they don't even refinish the stuff. People shop there so they can brag about how progressive and environmentally friendly they are. That being said i still find cool stuff and going around campus at the end of the quarter you can find PC's and other stuff they cant take with them on the plan when they return to thier rich parents-haha

In my neighborhood there is a street corner which we've turned into a community re-use center. People are always putting old things they don't want there, and picking up old things that others left.

And people are always posting 'curb alerts' on craigslist, whenever they see free stuff out on the street they post it.

Three of the shelves in my house were found on the street. One seems to be antique, maybe. People keep trying to buy them off of me.


Long ago I used to salvage computers. In the wealthy neighborhoods of west LA people would throw away some very expensive hardware just because one tiny thing was broken.

It's now illegal to take others hard rubbish from the kerbside, due to the grass verge being council property and liability lawsuits...blah blah. Which is good with me because my kids would drag home all kinds of weird and wonderful stuff that they thought was great, but would eventually wind up in the rubbish...bless them

It never ceases to amaze me the kind of really good stuff that people throw away. I love poking around in garage sales myself. Picked up a brand new, still in the package Trivia board game for $5 the other day, which is valued at around $50 retail....laughing!

Way back inmy younger days when I was able to climb into the dumpsters, I would love to dumpster dive. Found ALOT of great things.

Oh.....this is one of my favorite things to do!!!!!!

Its unbelievable, the things you find, and the things people
THROW AWAY!!!!!!
I have found MANY cool things, and i find myself scanning curbs
and checking out dumpsters all the time whenever im out and about!

have found....

--table and chairs, oak, great shape
--mini trunk full of all kinds of assorted beads/craft items
--computer touchscreen monitor (actually worked too!!)
--books
--19" tv (worked!!)
--dishes of all kinds
--jewelry
--dressers

and many many other items..............would loooove to get into
storage sheds that are abandoned.....that would be so fun!!

Dont drink and dive
Justin Gilpatrick said he hadn't had a drink in years. But after a night out drinking with a friend in Portland. Ore., the 27-year-old decided he was too intoxicated to drive home. So, in a questionable move, Gilpatrick decided to sleep it off in a nearby dumpster.

Unfortunately for him, a night of getting trashed took a literal turn when the dumpster was picked up by a garbage truck, which promptly dumped Gilpatrick inside and twice attempted to compact the load of trash.

KGW reports that when the driver of the Waste Management truck parked at a nearby shopping mall, the driver heard Gilpatrick screaming from inside. He was taken to a nearby hospital and treated for minor injuries.

Portland Police Lt. Robert King says that amazingly Gilpatrick escaped without any major injuries, describing him merely as being "shaken up" by the incident.

In fact, Waste Management spokeswoman Jackie Lang said the driver had to convince Gilpatrick to not walk away from the scene and to stick around for the ambulance to arrive.

The Daily Mail reports that Gilpatrick took to his Facebook page on Friday after being released from the hospital and wrote, "I have not had a drink in years and the one time I do this I what happens. I will never drink again."

Also listed on Gilpatrick's Facbeook page under his "favorite quotes" section is a saying from the English poet Samuel Johnson, "He who makes a beast of himself deals with the pain of being a man."

Say what you will about the wisdom of sleeping in a dumpster. But all in all, Gilpatrick came out looking less foolish than his drinking buddy who decided to drive home. Gilpatrick notes that his friend, while not sustaining any life-threatening injuries, was involved in a three-car accident.