Try Being Freegan

There's tons of food thrown out every day that is still perfectly edible. The reasons for this waste vary from people not finishing their meals, to expiration dates being passed, to something as stupid as damaged packaging.

Well there are people out there who take advantage of these wasteful habits and they call themselves freegans. It may be considered taboo in most societies, but these people are getting their food completely free from the garbage. As they say though, one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, the trash is usually food. The menu for a freegan completely depends on what they can find that day. Don't bother making a shopping list because one day you might find some trash eggplant and the next you might find some trash hot dogs.

Now what many people are thinking is "Ewww! That's disgusting! Won't it make you sick?" Well I'll say that you certainly do have higher odds of getting sick off of food from the trash just because you don't know what it was shacked up against in the dumpster, but you can fix that with the proper precautions. With packaged items you don't have to worry about contamination, but you will still need to handle them with care as any contamination can still rub off on your hands. For any found produce proper cleaning is needed. I've seen some freegans soak certain items in a diluted bleach solution then wash again with soap and water before preparing them to eat. Thorough cooking is also highly recommended. So with any dumpster food I'd certainly just make sure to err on the side of caution. Another thing that needs to be straightened out is that freegans don't eat your half chewed food or leftovers. They only prey on the business dumpsters where they know that there will be food and know that it won't be half eaten.

There are also the questions of legality of dumpster diving. Don't quote me on any of this, but as far as I can tell dumpster diving in America isn't illegal. Now there are exceptions to this like if the dumpster is on private property or if there is a sign specifically prohibiting it. I'd check with your local state law if you are interested. If is is illegal, well then I find that stupid. If someone doesn't want something and is going to throw it away than someone else should be allowed to put it to good use.

Freegans aren't limited to just food products. Any useful little item that they find in a dumpster is fair game. Sidewalk shopping for furniture left for the dump on trash day is a nice way to find free furniture. Of course you should still be wary. Watch for pee smells, mold, nasty stains, and other such problems that sometimes are the reason it was thrown away in the first place.

So whether you want to try it or not, you can't deny that freeganism would certainly save you money.

Here's a video of a slightly satirical look at the freegan life: