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How to make $1,570 in one day | Dumpster Diving

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AndrewNC

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I do a lot of crazy shit...

I quit my job when my boss offered me a promotion to build businesses that challenge social norms (maybe this one is normal for this forum). I spend 2 years traveling around the country. I spend weeks with spiritual gurus who taught me how to create my future with my mind. I work with leading researchers in neuroscience and psychology. I spend my time with Animal Rights Activists. I lived in a house with 18 year hold hippie girls for 3 months. And today, I topped the list.

Today, I joined a friend when he invited me to go dumpster diving...

His role: Jumping in dumpster and finding things.

My role: Take lots of pictures, hope nobody is watching us, and have a heart attack when he pulls out a Macbook Pro from the bottom of a dumpster.

upload_2016-8-11_16-38-30.webp


upload_2016-8-11_16-37-39.webp

My friend Scott has been dumpster diving for 10 years now, and he says every single day, there are $10,000 worth of things throw away in dumpsters in Boulder, Colorado alone.

Last year, his friend found a $24,000 gold rolex. He found 2 pounds of marijuana last year, and last week he invited me to go dumpster diving with him.

I went out to dinner with my girlfriend, and spent $46 on an awesome Italian dinner and drinks. When I got home, he found a brand new pair of snowboard bindings, with the receipt - bought for $200. He flipped it on Craigslist for $150

upload_2016-8-11_16-55-42.webp

Things to know - in college towns - the kids throw away anything and everything they don't want to take home with them. In boulder, these 2 weeks are when college students move out of their apartments and into new ones.

A lot of stuff gets thrown away.

Macbook, which is being sold on craiglist for $400. One of the wires was unplugged inside of it, so the person threw it away. Scott plugged in the wire and it works fine.
upload_2016-8-11_16-57-1.webp

$500 worth of guitars
upload_2016-8-11_16-57-57.webp

$100 Nikon

upload_2016-8-11_16-58-20.webp


Camping gear and two GPS'

upload_2016-8-11_16-58-40.webp


Last week, he found about $4,000 worth of tents thrown away in a commercial dumpster behind an outdoors store - because some of the poles were missing and they couldn't sell them.

The process:

1. Go to dumpsters near apartment complexes when students move out.
2. Go through dumpsters and find the things they throw away. I personall threw away a lot of things I didn't want to take with me when I move.
3. Sell items at thrift shops, ebay, or craigslist to turn a profit.



Picture of Scott selling items on a Mac computer (Which he actually found in a dumpster last month)

upload_2016-8-11_17-4-10.webp
 
I have to admit that's awesome! A new experience for fun(?) and profit(?). I'm in a perfect location for what you described so I'm going to keep my eye out for dumpsters now. If I actually dig in one I'll post about it here. :joyful:
 
I never knew this was possible!

Isn't this illegal or frowned upon where you live?

Time to grow your scavenger team and x 10 the results.
 
Isn't this illegal or frowned upon where you live?

I wondered if it was illegal too. I don't know the answer to that one. However, I know the answer to the other one. It's definitely frowned upon, haha. Zero F*cks given?

Time to grow your scavenger team and x 10 the results.

That was exactly what I was thinking! :)
 
What if somebody created a legit business based on dumpster diving and profited from it.
 
What if somebody created a legit business based on dumpster diving and profited from it.

Ha, I did! We had great success to the point where we actually bought the dumpsters and trucks to haul the "merch" away. I sold that business about 5 years ago due to scaling problems. Once you hit the 1M pounds level the big waste haulers notice and put you out of business.
 
Finding 2 pounds of marijuana would eat up all your profits... [HASHTAG]#justsaying[/HASHTAG] ;)
 
LOL....the things you get away with when you are young!

Anyway,...i once hung out with a Homeless dude who was n expert at dumpster diving for food. Yep, i kid you not. He knew when all the grocery stores were dumping their "seafood" and "meat." Apparently, there is some rule that you must dump the food 2 days before it goes bad. So, this guy would dive in the dumpsters and come out with Lobster Tails, Fillet Mignon, etc. Needless to say, he ate pretty good (as long as he had a place to cook his food).
 
Did you guys ever visit a junkyard where cars are trashed? I know that is where SwatKats used to make airplanes and motorbikes from :)

I just did a quick youtube search -
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dumpster diving
I am astonished with what people throw away lol.

But I know that in Qatar/Dubai throwing expensive gadgets away is a commonplace. Even more than in US maybe.

Where I live (Bangalore, India) I am quite sure that you won't find any of this in a dumpster. I don't even go close to it cuz it smells that bad lol.
 
I do a lot of crazy shit...

I quit my job when my boss offered me a promotion to build businesses that challenge social norms (maybe this one is normal for this forum). I spend 2 years traveling around the country. I spend weeks with spiritual gurus who taught me how to create my future with my mind. I work with leading researchers in neuroscience and psychology. I spend my time with Animal Rights Activists. I lived in a house with 18 year hold hippie girls for 3 months. And today, I topped the list.

Today, I joined a friend when he invited me to go dumpster diving...

His role: Jumping in dumpster and finding things.

My role: Take lots of pictures, hope nobody is watching us, and have a heart attack when he pulls out a Macbook Pro from the bottom of a dumpster.

View attachment 12982


View attachment 12981

My friend Scott has been dumpster diving for 10 years now, and he says every single day, there are $10,000 worth of things throw away in dumpsters in Boulder, Colorado alone.

Last year, his friend found a $24,000 gold rolex. He found 2 pounds of marijuana last year, and last week he invited me to go dumpster diving with him.

I went out to dinner with my girlfriend, and spent $46 on an awesome Italian dinner and drinks. When I got home, he found a brand new pair of snowboard bindings, with the receipt - bought for $200. He flipped it on Craigslist for $150

View attachment 12983

Things to know - in college towns - the kids throw away anything and everything they don't want to take home with them. In boulder, these 2 weeks are when college students move out of their apartments and into new ones.

A lot of stuff gets thrown away.

Macbook, which is being sold on craiglist for $400. One of the wires was unplugged inside of it, so the person threw it away. Scott plugged in the wire and it works fine.
View attachment 12984

$500 worth of guitars
View attachment 12985

$100 Nikon

View attachment 12986


Camping gear and two GPS'

View attachment 12987


Last week, he found about $4,000 worth of tents thrown away in a commercial dumpster behind an outdoors store - because some of the poles were missing and they couldn't sell them.

The process:

1. Go to dumpsters near apartment complexes when students move out.
2. Go through dumpsters and find the things they throw away. I personall threw away a lot of things I didn't want to take with me when I move.
3. Sell items at thrift shops, ebay, or craigslist to turn a profit.



Picture of Scott selling items on a Mac computer (Which he actually found in a dumpster last month)

View attachment 12988

This is awesome man! Definitely will have to try this haha. Do you mainly do this at the start or end of school?
 
This is awesome man! Definitely will have to try this haha. Do you mainly do this at the start or end of school?
I don't really have experience doing this.

My friend who does it says he goes looking for stuff at the end of july/early august when the apartments near campus' leases end for the students who live off campus.
 
Also - make sure to throw all metals in your truck. Cables, tubing, even cans. Over time they add up! I remember one trip we made to the scrap yard with $3,500 worth of the stuff.
 
What if somebody created a legit business based on dumpster diving and profited from it.
I remember a good few years ago I was watching this business reality show following people starting tech companies. One of them was an app that you listed locations of skips and then people would come along and help themselves. The idea was that it would benefit the person hiring the skip because if people emptied it then they could fit in more stuff for their money and clearly the dumpster divers got something out of it.

Not sure how the app made any money though?
 
Neuroscientists eh? Yeah I bet.

I thought promoting illegal activity was prohibited on this forum?

If it's not, I can show you guys how to source $6 a gram MDMA from the Netherlands and sell it for 100/gram domestically.

While we're at it, how about carding ? Is that fair play too?
 
Here in MI, it is illegal IF the dumpster has a fence or wall around it to keep people out...and they usually have locks.
 
Neuroscientists eh? Yeah I bet.

I thought promoting illegal activity was prohibited on this forum?

If it's not, I can show you guys how to source $6 a gram MDMA from the Netherlands and sell it for 100/gram domestically.

While we're at it, how about carding ? Is that fair play too?
You'll want to check your local laws but I think a guy below (above?) is right. Breaking and entering illegal. Dumpster diving maybe not.

Sent from my SM-A500W using Tapatalk
 
Dumpster diving is definitely better in swanky college towns, but not bad in smaller ones. Most divers forget the 3S rule: Don't do Stupid things, with Stupid people, in Stupid places. Dumpster dive in the early afternoon or evening, stone cold sober, in obviously public places. Because at 2am, with your drunk buddies, after jumping the fence? Definitely illegal.
 
Neuroscientists eh? Yeah I bet.

I thought promoting illegal activity was prohibited on this forum?

If it's not, I can show you guys how to source $6 a gram MDMA from the Netherlands and sell it for 100/gram domestically.

While we're at it, how about carding ? Is that fair play too?
Long live silkroad
 
Correcting my previous post....I dove into this subject a bit deeper. It is not State Law that dictates whether dumpster diving is illegal or not. It is City Code.

Here is the Code for Farmington Hills, MI....a more upscale community.

Sec 14-2, Code of Ordinances.
b)"It shall be unlawful for any person, other than the owner or occupant, his or her employees or agents, city employees and/or the city's contractor to tamper or meddle with, take, carry away, pick through or scavenge any container, bundle or approved container for recyclables and remove the contents thereof from the location where the same has been properly placed pending collection."
(e)

And in Canton, MI, another very nice area: Sec. 58-186. - General standards for operation. "Salvaging is permitted and shall be so organized so as to not interfere with prompt disposal of refuse or create unsightliness or health hazards. Scavenging is prohibited."


Whether this is enforced may be another matter.
 
Last edited:
Did you guys ever visit a junkyard where cars are trashed? I know that is where SwatKats used to make airplanes and motorbikes from :)

I just did a quick youtube search -
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dumpster diving
I am astonished with what people throw away lol.

But I know that in Qatar/Dubai throwing expensive gadgets away is a commonplace. Even more than in US maybe.

Where I live (Bangalore, India) I am quite sure that you won't find any of this in a dumpster. I don't even go close to it cuz it smells that bad lol.

My exact thoughts.... I live in Dubai but wouldnt get into this !
 
This thread bugs me.

It's maybe a notch above or a notch below panhandling....still not sure yet.
It's a hustle. To scale and be a legit business would take getting 1M$ EPA permits which require $1M facilities...hence why I quit doing it. Stay small and the scavenging world is your oyster.
 
I do a lot of crazy shit...

I quit my job when my boss offered me a promotion to build businesses that challenge social norms (maybe this one is normal for this forum). I spend 2 years traveling around the country. I spend weeks with spiritual gurus who taught me how to create my future with my mind. I work with leading researchers in neuroscience and psychology. I spend my time with Animal Rights Activists. I lived in a house with 18 year hold hippie girls for 3 months. And today, I topped the list.

Today, I joined a friend when he invited me to go dumpster diving...

His role: Jumping in dumpster and finding things.

My role: Take lots of pictures, hope nobody is watching us, and have a heart attack when he pulls out a Macbook Pro from the bottom of a dumpster.

View attachment 12982


View attachment 12981

My friend Scott has been dumpster diving for 10 years now, and he says every single day, there are $10,000 worth of things throw away in dumpsters in Boulder, Colorado alone.

Last year, his friend found a $24,000 gold rolex. He found 2 pounds of marijuana last year, and last week he invited me to go dumpster diving with him.

I went out to dinner with my girlfriend, and spent $46 on an awesome Italian dinner and drinks. When I got home, he found a brand new pair of snowboard bindings, with the receipt - bought for $200. He flipped it on Craigslist for $150

View attachment 12983

Things to know - in college towns - the kids throw away anything and everything they don't want to take home with them. In boulder, these 2 weeks are when college students move out of their apartments and into new ones.

A lot of stuff gets thrown away.

Macbook, which is being sold on craiglist for $400. One of the wires was unplugged inside of it, so the person threw it away. Scott plugged in the wire and it works fine.
View attachment 12984

$500 worth of guitars
View attachment 12985

$100 Nikon

View attachment 12986


Camping gear and two GPS'

View attachment 12987


Last week, he found about $4,000 worth of tents thrown away in a commercial dumpster behind an outdoors store - because some of the poles were missing and they couldn't sell them.

The process:

1. Go to dumpsters near apartment complexes when students move out.
2. Go through dumpsters and find the things they throw away. I personall threw away a lot of things I didn't want to take with me when I move.
3. Sell items at thrift shops, ebay, or craigslist to turn a profit.



Picture of Scott selling items on a Mac computer (Which he actually found in a dumpster last month)

View attachment 12988
OMG this is the worst Sidewalking bullshit I have ever seen..and here is a Fastlaner making big bucks out of their garbage....
Is it me or that Jesus turned my water to wine and got me drunk??? :wacky:
 

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