By Wiley Seers

The stories and motives are as varied as are the people.  You will find A growing phenomenon that has been getting some media exposure is the practice of Dumpster Diving.  There are many people and the number is growing of people that spend a great deal of time going through garbage dumpsters behind businesses to see what they can find of value.  Most people are looking for food but there are a lot of people just looking for things of value.

The stories and motives are as varied as are the people.  You will find the affluent, young yuppies, students and the homeless in different dumpsters in various cities at different times of the day. 

Dumpster diving is no different than any other practice; you have to learn the finer points to be successful at it.  You have to learn your territory and how the different businesses conduct their day to day practice such as when and how often they take their trash to the dumpster.  There are some times during the week when the products tossed are better than other days.

The government and health officials have made scavenging for food a way to help cope with the rising unemployment and the rising costs in food prices.  Many people have to face the decision of whether to buy gasoline to travel to work, pay rent or the mortgage or to buy food.  The art of dumpster diving has helped many in dealing with that decision.  A lot of the food found in the dumpsters is still edible.

Watch this clip to get an idea of Dumpster Diving

All the food markets are given dates at which some food items must be taken off the shelf because the government has determined a date after which different food items cannot be sold, however, most of this food is not spoiled or contaminated and can still be consumed long after the date given in which the store must remove the food.

The thing that makes the food items attractive to the dumpster divers is that most of the food is still packaged.  So if the dumpster diver gets to the dumpster at the right time they can find a lot of good food.

The thing that needs to be stressed is that to being a Dumpster Diver does not mean that the Diver is a low life or of less value in our society; it means that this person has found another way to deal with the challenges of our modern world.

There are even some that have found a way to capitalize on the practice.  Some charitable organizations have worked out agreements with the different companies to use the throw away items in their kitchens to feed the homeless.  Other enterprising individuals have found ways to make money with the items found in the dumpsters.

There are a few people that have written books and set up websites that give advice and offer the finer points on the art of Dumpster Diving.

If you are having difficulties dealing with the challenges today; this might be an opportunity that you can use!