For me, there were a number of things that inspired me to undertake dumpster diving. One was the amount of people that I knew doing it, who were a part of intentional communities and were able to provide meals mostly from diving. If there is free nutritious food available; why not? Secondly – and I think more importantly – was the fact that we as a society are throwing away large amounts of food, whilst in many places of the world people are starving. If that isn’t mind boggling, then I don’t know what is! How can we sacrifice perfectly edible food, all for the sake of profit and presenting what is most pleasing to the consumer? For me, diving is a way of acting in resistance to a system which functions on these principles. And in doing say, we are able to provide food for ourselves and our community. I think that that is a beautiful thing.

While dumpster diving is technically legal, how do you avoid such problems as trespass and private property laws when you go diving?

There are a number of rules we always strive to abide by when diving. First, always be honest and transparent. Don’t try and hide what you’re doing – because you don’t have anything to hide! And secondly, if you’re told to move on, respect that call.

How do you judge whether the food that you collect is healthy and eatable? Do you have concerns about eating off meat or infected fruit? 

Generally, we just make judgment calls at the time. If the food smells bad or looks off, then we either leave it or take it home to add to the compost or worm farm. Many people automatically think that food will be bad simply because it’s in the dumpster, but you’ll be surprised, especially when it comes to fruit and vegetables. I am a little more cautious with things like meat or dairy. But again, it comes down to a judgment call at the time. It’s usually quite easy to tell if that food is ‘bad’.

In terms of location, have you got any dumpsters that you particularly like to go diving in? What is it about those dumpsters that is so appealing?

In terms of locations, not particularly. However, we do find that the dumpsters of large food chains usually provide the best ‘yields’ – like ALDI, Woolworths, and Coles.

A big part of our website is hoping to create an online community where dumpster divers can share ideas and experiences of getting their hands dirty. What means do you currently use for communicating with other divers and checking up on laws, dumpster locations etc?

At the moment, it is mainly through word of mouth and people I know personally. However, there are a number of groups via social media that have been started up to share ideas and experiences with one another. This website sounds fantastic – the more, the merrier!

Finally what would you say to people who view dumpster diving with disgust, who think it is a dirty, illegal and unhygienic pastime?

Come and dive with us one time! You’ll be surprised. It’s not as dirty and unhygienic as you think it is, and it certainly isn’t illegal. We always welcome and love having more people get involved.