Dumpster diving IS addictive. I've been doing that for 20 years. Scrapping is just what happened one day when I didn't find any garage-salable stuff dumpster diving!
Here's some tips:
Use a dive stick to probe around in dumpsters. A dive stick is any old broom handle with a wire hook on the end. You can also try a magnet on the other end. Don't put too much love into your dive stick, though, you may find you have to leave it behind if somebody approaches you and you don't want to scare them.
Keep your light below the level of the rim if diving at night.
A little noise around a dumpster at night sounds worse to you than it does to people living nearby.
Leave the area around the dumpster cleaner than you found it if possible.
Stay away from dumpsters with locks, or dumpsters in locked enclosures, that's trespassing (dumpster diving is otherwise legal.)
Keep some boxes in your vehicle; I have successfully used this as an excuse when dealing with the cops. (I pulled $400 worth of video tapes out of that dumpster which was behind a BlockBuster video the night the cop stopped me.)
Don't go into a dumpster unless there is NO other way. Once you're in, it can be hard to get out, also I have had sharp things below the surface I'm standing on poke up through. Never got hurt bad though.
If you do go into a dumpster, what I like to do is bring a small, portable stool with a light rope tied around one leg, and the other end of the string has a couple of pounds of washers and nuts tied to it to weight it. Throw the end with the washers into the dumpster (you need about 8-10 feet of rope). Step up on the stool, get into the dumpster. Pull the stool up by the rope, into the dumpster with you, then throw the weighted end rope back outside (the weight helps keep the rope where you want it, otherwise it tends to fall whereever the stool is.) Rummage around at will. Then, when it's time to get back out, step back onto the stool, climb out, then pull the stool back out by the rope. But remember, only go in if you *have* to, it's risky business.
Some people actually put their hips on the rim of the dumpster and lean in to get stuff out. I don't recommend that after having fallen in one time. That sucked.
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