One person's trash is another person's treasure-diving experience

It was then that disappointment struck.

The box was empty.

McCall got started in the Dumpster diving frenzy when a group of her guy friends came home one night with a whiteboard big enough to cover an entire apartment wall.

They scored their prized possession from the Dumpster behind Staples.

"I like to find what other people think is trash and use it to my benefit," said McCall.

Once McCall learned such random items could be acquired from Dumpsters she joined the crew for their next excursion. On McCall's first night she learned the tricks and trades of diving.

"You have to wear dark clothes, preferably shabbies in case you encounter any gross goop and gunk from the real trash in the dumpster," said McCall.

McCall also said divers need to come prepared with a flashlight, a black garbage sack to carry your goods in and something long like a rake or hoe to fish things out that are at the bottom of the Dumpster.

McCall's favorite find is raspberry-filled doughnuts out of her much loved bakery's Dumpster.

"I shared them with my staff at work they loved it…love is a raspberry filled doughnut," said McCall. "They had no idea they were from the Dumpster and no one got sick." But perhaps someone got a cavity?

Now whenever McCall (who prefers her last name remain anonymous) gets a hankering for raspberry filled doughnuts she doesn't go inside her bakery like most jelly doughnut cravers would. McCall goes behind the bakery after hours around 10:30 p.m. It is there that she fishes for her raspberry filled doughnuts among other bakery goodies.

According to www.allthingsfrugal.com a Dumpster diver is someone who searches for things that other people have thrown out that are still useful, can be recycled and have value. Dumpster divers will not only pick up discarded items left at the curbside of people's homes, but also climb into Dumpsters at apartment buildings and behind shopping centers.

Dumpster diving has become popular enough that author John Hoffman wrote a book about it, titled, The Art & Science of Dumpster Diving. When you type the words "Dumpster diving" in a Google search, you get links to 155,000 web sites.

When McCall was asked if she was proud of being a Dumpster diver she replied with a wrinkled brow and said, "Are you proud to be a blonde?" And then in a Napoleon Dynamite sort of tone she added, "Heck yes I am, it's something random no one else does."

McCall said she goes Dumpster diving because she's a "white trash" girl and she's got to live up to her name.

"We listen to white trash butt rock music in the car like Pour Some Sugar on Me (by Def Leppard). We think it's pretty fitting for the occasion."

McCall said she likes to live life to its fullest, and if she feels she can do that by jumping in a Dumpster, so be it.

McCall and her friends said they go Dumpster diving more for the rush, not the product.

"It's just something silly we do and hope that cars passing by won't see us," she said. On the other hand some of her friends do go diving for the product.

A group of her guy friends discovered they could get bread that hadn't expired yet in the Dumpsters. After coming to this understanding they refused to buy it at the grocery store. They collected bread every two weeks and packed it into the freezer the whole school year and lived on their Dumpster dived baked goods.

McCall said her friends see it as a way of recycling food. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture one-fifth of Americans' food goes to waste each year, and 130 pounds per person end up in a landfill.

According to the DumpsterWorld website "The seasoned diver will find his head turning at a pile of trash on the side of the road much as if it were a pretty woman or a nice car." However, Dumpster diving isn't always a success. Other times it's a fat lady in a beat up Volkswagen.

Another friend of the Dumpster diving crew who we'll call Lola, said it takes a lot of persistence.

"It's disappointing when you don't find anything, but you just have to learn when the good loads come in," Lola said. Lola also said a good Dumpster diver will do "drive by's" to check certain Dumpsters and see if they're going to be worth exploring.

The divers explained that it is best to go when the Dumpsters are just about to be emptied. This way, the garbage is full and divers don't have to get inside to find the useful items quickly. McCall said it's important to be selective in the items you choose at the bakery. Best left in the Dumpster are boxes that look as if they've been opened, torn bags and items that have been expired for a long time.

Some people shy away from Dumpster diving because they are afraid of getting caught or because they think it is illegal.

McCall said the driver's job can be the most important because you've got to have someone that is good at keeping watch and can be a fast get-away in case of an emergency Dumpster diving extraction.

The Dumpster Lady (thedumpsterlady.htm) said that if anyone bothers you, just say, "I'm looking for boxes." In some cities the practice is illegal. Not Logan. A spokesman for the Logan City Police Department said it is only illegal if there is a "No Trespassing" or "Private Property" sign posted. Otherwise you are free to dig through any trash you want.

McCall said there is not a particular science to Dumpster diving, "you just have to have the guts to go do it and the stupidity to eat what you found."

MS
DN