INTL Dumpster diving with the freegans: Why pay for food?

Fisher

Has No Life - Lives on TB
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/ma...008/07/21/cnfree121.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

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http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1529573275/bclid1233427573/bctid1674032960

Excerpt

Dumpster diving with the freegans: Why pay for food?
Last Updated: 7:52am BST 21/07/2008

James Hall is amazed at all the goodies on offer as he joins anti-consumerist activists in 'dumpster diving'

Sleep is cheap for Dave Hamilton. That's because the Bristolian paid almost nothing for his king-sized wooden bed. Mr Hamilton salvaged the bed frame from a skip.

The mattress came from Freecycle.org, a free online exchange site. All he paid for were the screws to put it together. "The entire bed cost me less than £3," he boasts.

Dave and his identical twin brother Andy are a new breed of ethical consumer, often referred to as freegans. Everything that freegans "consume" - food, clothing, furniture - is scavenged, swapped or donated by like-minded people.

Anti-consumerist movements like freeganism are growing in the UK. Websites such as Freecycle.org, Swapstyle.com, and Selfsufficientish.com, which the Hamilton brothers run, have experienced a steady increase in traffic over recent months.

Existing freegans say that people are joining their ranks by the week. But these are not dippy hippies or trampy hobos. They are educated people who have decided to seek an alternative way of life outside the economic norms.
 

Hermit

Inactive
Oh yeah, have to get back into dumpster diving and Freecycle. I always thought it was fun rather than a chore, getting free stuff.
But these are not dippy hippies or trampy hobos. They are educated people who have decided to seek an alternative way of life outside the economic norms.
eh, you'd be surprised at how many dippy hippies and trampy hobos are well-educated.
 

SouthernGal

"Don't retreat...reload"
I have a picture to add to this thread! (It's a dumpster at the GA Mtn. Fair - we went on Sunday). If you can't read it, it says "Eating out of dumpster - $5.00 Fee" on the front. It says "Lodging - $29.99 / Night" on the top side. Below that it says "Ex-husbands must be wrapped tightly in carpet before placing in dumpster. 1 body per roll"
 

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Desertrat

Inactive
A couple who could have been in "Deliverance" used to work the dumpsters around here in south Georgia. One night during a foray, he climbed into the dumpster and exclaimed, "Hey! There's some kind of animal in here! Gimme the flashlight!" She did, asking, "What is it?"

"It's a hog!"

"Is it dead?"

"Well, it ain't BAD dead."

Locally accepted as a true story...

'Rat
 

pops88

Girls with Guns Member
Dumpster diving was popular when I was in college over 25 years ago. Times have changed though and there can be serious risks, such as bringing home bed bugs, getting hepatitis, contaminated needle sticks, etc. That being said, my husband grabbed some decent mental book cases our neighbors put out by the dumpster a few months back.
 

Double_A

TB Fanatic
I have a picture to add to this thread! (It's a dumpster at the GA Mtn. Fair - we went on Sunday). If you can't read it, it says "Eating out of dumpster - $5.00 Fee" on the front. It says "Lodging - $29.99 / Night" on the top side. Below that it says "Ex-husbands must be wrapped tightly in carpet before placing in dumpster. 1 body per roll"

That is absolutely priceless!

B-T-W I've been a freecycler for over a year now.
 
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