dumpster diving

American  

Or Dumpster diving

noun

1. the practice of foraging in garbage that has been put out on the street in dumpsters, garbage cans, etc., for discarded items that may still be valuable, useful, or fixable.

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dumpster diving British  

/ ˈdʌmpstə /

noun

1. the practice of searching through dustbins for discarded but still usable or valuable objects such as food or clothes

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Etymology

Origin of dumpster diving

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

“You brought me here to dig through trash. This is your big gesture? This is how you planned to apologize? By taking me dumpster diving in your backyard?”

From Literature

“Nah. It’s safety glass. Besides, all those years of dumpster diving makes a dog tough. Scruffy, Tater, and me did a quick sweep of the kennels.”

From Literature

Journalist Hamza Hamki, from the city of Qamishli, says "dumpster diving" is not widespread across the north-east but that the number of people resorting to it has increased.

From BBC

After eight hours of dumpster diving, his haul — which he would later take to collectors to export to Turkey or Egypt for processing — would make $10, maybe $15 if he was lucky.

From Los Angeles Times

He was foundling who had obviously logged lots of days dumpster diving in Huntington, W.Va.

From Fox News