People that are involved in scavenging are called Dumpsters. They have different attitudes towards foods and goods compared to ordinary people. Those people live depending on what others throw away and no longer need in their households. Dumpsters also have a set of rules and recommendations on what products are safe to consume, when the most fruitful periods are, and in what places food can be found regularly. They also have a philosophical view on scavenging and consuming food from the rubbish bins. However, it does not emerge eventually, each Dumpster has to pass through several stages to take full advantage of this activity.
Learning what is safe to eat constitutes the basic golden rule of any Dumpster that scavenges on a regular basis. First, such products as crackers, candies, cookies, raw fruits, and vegetables form a nutrient ratio. Second, some restaurants and cafes throw away the courses that were either prepared not according to the customer’s requirements or got cold before the actual delivery. To eat safely, any Dumpster is obliged to use senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of food (Eighner, 1992). Anyway, even the most careful and attentive scavengers regularly experience dysentery.
Overall, Dumpsters are peculiar as they adhere to specific lifestyles and philosophies. The first aspect concerns analysis of the most fruitful periods for scavenging – academic calendar and business hours usually predict the total haul. Another facet is associated with Dumpsters’ attitudes towards the things found – every object has its value and may be useful at a definite period, so a warm blanket found in summer must be captured and utilized in winter. Once Dumpsters do not need a thing, they also throw it away, but they are less wasteful consumers than the previous owners. To become a true Dumpster and take advantage of it, one needs to pass through scavenge and disgust, learning how to find and collect appropriate products.
Reference
Eighner, L. (1992). On Dumpster Diving. New England Journal of Public Policy, 8(1), 87-95.