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Original poster

Has anyone ever been dumpster diving?

58 replies

Purplependant222 · 06/02/2021 22:53

An Instagram account I follow said her and her partner look in the bins behind DIY stores as they’ve found quite a few decent things for their renovations.

I always presumed they’d be locked/cctv/everything spoiled/sent back to suppliers.

I guess with lockdown I’m grasping at things to do..

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 22:55

What sort of things? I don't think it's legal to go rummaging through bins on private property is it?

TheoriginalLEM · 06/02/2021 22:59

I have taken items from skips and those left outside houses to be taken. My DP wont take me to the tip anymore as i always "rescue" something.

mustbebetter · 06/02/2021 23:00

I remember that habitat in london used to skip loads of stuff that was very usable still. Got a few lamps and things.

Sparklingbrook · 06/02/2021 23:04

I know people take stuff from skips but hopefully ask the skip owner first.
The containers at our tip-you wouldn't be able to take anything out there's about a five foot drop when you throw stuff in and the staff wouldn't allow it anyway.

There's a show on the TV when some annoying woman turns up at a council tip and grabs stuff off people as they are about to chuck it then recycles it into something. I think they say at the start that you can't just do that. Grin

FrenchBoule · 06/02/2021 23:06

@TheoriginalLEM haha,I’m the same 🙂 Last time I went with DH somebody put a few beautiful wicker baskets in all shapes and sizes beside the skip. I rescued them and given some away. All recipients were happy (yes,I told them where the baskets came from)

TheoriginalLEM · 06/02/2021 23:24

I rescued a hand knitted rabbit from the skip. It made me sad that someone threw him away. We call him stig of the dump

I wouldn't go onto somebody's property to raid a skip but if its on the street its fair game. Ive got dinner plates and vases from the skip. Better than waste. I wouldn't dream of disturbing someone to ask for something in a skip, they clearly didn't want it

LondonStone · 06/02/2021 23:28

A colleague of DH used to go around Soho after work dumpster diving in all the takeaways/restaurants around there, he literally never bought food for himself.

He saved up enough to buy property at the Barbican (which was around £780,000 for a one bed flat for those not familiar with London) so it clearly worked! ShockHmm

idontlikealdi · 06/02/2021 23:32

I haven't but when we had a skip recently loads of stuff got taken out, I couldn't care less, we were chucking it anyway!

Embarrasedaf · 06/02/2021 23:35

I wouldn’t do this, I find it disgusting. You never know what you might run into in a bin that’s publicly accessible - think discarded needles etc.

When I was at university there was a random old man that used to visit our campus daily to rummage through every binConfused god knows what he was hoping to find

Changi · 06/02/2021 23:38

I don't think rummaging through people's bins is quite the same as skip diving.

Lutwey · 06/02/2021 23:44

I have years ago when I was skint, it's ridiculous what these huge shops throw out that could be used/eaten/repurposed instead of just binned.

LunaHeather · 06/02/2021 23:44

I was wondering about this just today! I could do with some stuff that home shops might discard but I was thinking they'd be unlikely to use skips. When the ice melts I'll go by on my walk.

My friend has a car. She booked a slot at the tip recently and someone was about to dump a beauitful collection of botanical illustration books - so now my friend has them. She sent me photos and they look lovely.

Leeds2 · 06/02/2021 23:47

A family member saw an item that she thought her toddler would love in a skip on a drive. She knocked to ask permission to take it, owner said yes and family member then took her round some flowers as a thank you. I thought it was lovely! If I was throwing stuff out, I would much prefer it to find a new home where it would be used.

KenAdams · 07/02/2021 00:06

Er, no - Salisbury anyone?!

Original poster
Purplependant222 · 07/02/2021 11:18

I was more thinking of shops clearing old stock. I would never touch food - I’m sure a lot of it is fine and it’s original packaging but I’m not desperate.

The Instagram account I follow said they’d found a few £200 doors perfectly fine thrown outside a DIY shop.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 07/02/2021 11:22

I would be very wary. Not just because of CCTV and alarms/trespassing, but you have no idea why the stuff has been discarded. Is it thrown away because it's unsafe? Stuff that's been taken off sale for a reason?

I doubt shops would be throwing away stuff that was ok or old stock, that doesn't make sense from a business point of view.

Raindough · 07/02/2021 12:57

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was considered theft to take stock from a shop’s bin like this. Most national retailers have polices on how to handle old/damaged stock which usually involves sending it to a distribution centre, not binning it

MacDuffsMuff · 07/02/2021 13:29

We had a skip on our drive and a friend phoned me to say that she had driven past and could they have a couple of the things for their sons flat. I was out when she rang so told her that I would get them out for her when I got home. By the time I got home about an hour later the skip had been absolutely ransacked and almost empty. Our driveway is quite long and although you can see it from the road, people had to come quite far onto our property to raid our skip.

Needsmustnow · 07/02/2021 13:32

Is dumpster an American term for skip?

hamsterchump · 07/02/2021 13:38

Yep, it's great, we took it up during the second lockdown and it's my new favourite hobby. It's amazing what you can find; great food and other items, it all depends on your local area. Best tip is have a look on Google maps/streetview first and see if you can see the bins to give you an idea where to look. Go at least an hour and a half after they've shut, take gloves (slash/cut/stab proof from Amazon etc) and a cheap torch (don't use your phone in case you drop it) and a friend (to hold open the bin lid while you rummage). You can often tell whether a bag is worth looking through by the weight. A lot of bins are quite clean especially if the shop doesn't sell food.

hamsterchump · 07/02/2021 13:39

@Needsmustnow

Is dumpster an American term for skip?
More commonly big bin with a lid like a Biffa bin used by shops. I don't know if they have another word for skips or just use dumpster for both though.
Needsmustnow · 07/02/2021 13:47

So, more like commercial bins behind food shops?

I'm shocked to find myself in my 40s peering in to skips for something that might be useful down on the allotment.

TheresNothingIWantMore · 07/02/2021 13:48

The few times I've had a skip my worry was that people would fill it up, I'm more than happy for people to take what they want! I think it's technically illegal but as long as it genuinely been thrown away noone will care

That said once we were cleaning an area to the back of our garden that used to be a stables and kept finding old cobbel stones. They kept disappearing from the skip, so we left them so they were easy to grab for whoever was taking them. Turns out they're worth about £50 each!

hamsterchump · 07/02/2021 13:52

@Purplependant222

I was more thinking of shops clearing old stock. I would never touch food - I’m sure a lot of it is fine and it’s original packaging but I’m not desperate.

The Instagram account I follow said they’d found a few £200 doors perfectly fine thrown outside a DIY shop.

Can you message me the Instagram account? I love finding new UK dumpster diving accounts to follow. I'll trade you a great YouTube channel if you want for inspiration.
KirstenBlest · 07/02/2021 13:54

I've been skip diving.

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