Haul 1: $90+ worth of avos (guacamole party!), grapes for days, and even olives!
Hi everyone!
Today I will discuss my recent experience with dumpster diving around Melbourne. I was both skeptical and apprehensive about diving at first; the idea made me nervous, and honestly I didn't think it would be worth while. Half a dozen dives later I can report that, while I do find it slightly nerve-wracking at times, I think the benefits far outweigh any potential problems you may encounter.
As you can see from the photos, there is LOTS of perfectly edible food going to waste; all this would be headed for landfill if we hadn't grabbed it, it's quite eye-opening to see just how much is thrown away. Contrary to what many may believe, stores do not only throw out food which is bad, often a product isn't selling, or there's just a few left, or a new delivery comes in, the shelf space is needed and stock is cleared out - straight into the bin. We have also seen boxes with one damaged item that spilled, so the entire box was thrown out.
Consider how much energy has gone into producing these products, growing, processing, packing, delivery, etc, just to wind up in the bin, all that energy wasted. We all know that food is not cheap, especially fruits and veggies, many people struggle to afford fresh produce and end up eating junk instead, food is our highest expense after rent, if we can cut it by half or more, we'll save a lot of money.
There is a lot of potential for dumpster diving, if you think it's something you might try, here are some things to consider:
- Be discreet and considerate - Don't be noisy and don't leave any mess behind
- Wear old clothes - Bins can be messy
- Some days bins are empty, some days too full - Learn the schedule for your area
- Use common sense and safety - Use caution in/around bins, wear appropriate clothing
- Take old bags or boxes to put food into - Don't rely on finding boxes to use
- Take a bottle of soapy water and fresh water to wash and rinse your hands
- Don't get greedy - Only take what you will actually use, leave the rest for other divers
- Share - If you find way more than you need, post it to your local DD group
- Diving during the day or during the night makes little difference
- Everything must be inspected, and thoroughly rinsed+washed - This takes time
- If someone confronts you, be polite and friendly, and leave promptly
Haul 2: Fruit, veg, even junk food.
The
photos above, haul 1 & 2 are from two bins in one day; this involved driving to the bins, driving home, then processing everything,
it's not much different than driving around to do your grocery shopping, just a bit more processing to do when you get home.
We only take food
that is in really good condition to start with, once home we rinse
everything, wash it in water with bicarb and vinegar, then do a final
rinse, and we leave everything to dry on a towel.
My partner and I are Vegan and I'm coeliac, so that rules out heaps of what we find, once we saw a full box of frozen Hawaiian pizzas, which we shared to our local diving group. Don't even get me started on the bread, loaves upon loaves, many stores re-stock daily, you can imagine how much ends up in the bin.
Remember that diving is like a lucky dip, this can be good for a number of reasons, you might end up eating a greater variety of seasonal foods, and it encourages you to get creative in the kitchen to use what you've found, on the other hand you might not find exactly what you want.
Thus far we have not been confronted by anyone, but it can, and probably will happen eventually. We plan to simply state that we're just trying to save food from going to waste and ending up in landfill, then promptly be on our way. No harm done. I'm hoping that if we're ever confronted, it will be someone friendly with the same outlook on food waste.
Finally, here is a photo of last nights dinner, more than 50% is reclaimed food, and it was delicious!
Happy diving, or not, have a great week either way~
