At The Fourth Place, we’re here to discuss all kinds of relationships with food. Call this one a hobby, a craze, a lifestyle- whatever suits, but dumpster diving has become a movement amongst many and is not reserved for people who “need to”. There’s much more to it than that. Allow me to ✨ dive ✨ in 😎
Dumpster diving is the act of salvaging goods that have been tossed, usually by local and/or big commercial entities, that are still in good enough condition for sale or consumption. These goods can vary across industries such as construction, industrial and residential however today the focus is on commercial food.
It’s easy to think that people resort to dumpster diving due to poverty or financial stress, especially in the current state of the economy and a level of inflation that never seems to end. However, dumpster diving is often a choice for a number of reasons.
In my understanding, food wastage is up there as one of the main reasons for dumpster diving. With stories floating around that there are wheelie bins and skip bins filled to the brim with unspoiled and near-fresh produce, pastry and bread, it’s no wonder people are jumping in head first to salvage food that is more or less straight off the shelves. I’m talking supermarkets, patisseries, bakeries- the works. Of course, there are hygiene considerations to salvaging the products but with a bin so full, it seems a bit like reaching into a basket of goods protected by its neighbouring product rather than a bin. Not to mention, some of the food is wrapped up before it’s thrown away.
In a world that is overrun with production and limited solutions to discarding waste safely and sustainably, it’s no wonder there are moral considerations to the gig. All the way back in 2010, The National Waste Report estimated that 35% of municipal waste from households, residential complexes, commercial and institutional sources, was food. It also estimated that within commercial and industrial sources of waste, specifically, around 21.5% was food. That is A LOT of salvageable food in the rubbish. In fact, it’s around 1.388 million tonnes actually.
Food Bank recently claimed that Australia produces enough food to feed all of us three times over. It also states that Australia’s food waste is in excess of the equivalent of nine MCG’s worth which equates to about 7.6 billion tonnes. That article is MUCH more recent and those stats are A LOT more than The National Waste Report in 2010. To add insult to injury, Food Bank also claims that over 70% of those nine MCG’s represent food that is wasted but still edible. Whether you’re looking at those stats through a sustainability, economic, moral or purely logical lens, that much edible food gone to waste just seems wrong.
If there is so much waste and it does seem so wrong, why do it? I don’t claim to understand or speak on behalf of commercial and fresh produce juggernauts nor the local underdogs but I imagine it falls somewhere between support for the business model and some kind of legal prudence regarding spoiled food. There’s word that we, as consumers, have a tendency to avoid food that is near its “best before” date which leaves older foods on the shelves, and first in line for the bin. It’s also known that we, as buyers, shy away from misshaped and funny looking produce which has led supermarkets to reject a lot of edible food from suppliers and/or throw the ugly-ducklings of the batch. However, this is not to excuse a supermarket’s marketing and self-led reputation for “fresh” and “best” food that is maintained by unnecessarily stringent selection processes of fresh produce that results in tonnes (literally) of waste.
Let’s skip to the obvious though, dumpster diving could potentially save you hundreds of dollars of groceries a month, especially if you’re diving for more than one. Canstar says that the average Victorian household spends about $153 per week on groceries (!!!) 💸💸 Considering the range of produce available through this method you could find anything from Sunday roast to the bread for your sandwiches. Given the duopoly of the supermarket industry in Australia, the disparity between what we consumers pay and what the farmers are paid for their produce, and how much grocery prices have been impacted by inflation, it lends a pretty good financial argument to start diving.
Such as any good thing in this world, there are caveats to consider. You’ve got to be pretty able bodied and well resourced to actually do the diving. Reaching into the gloomy pits of a wheeley bin or scaling the skip bin in the shadows of a back alley require some baseline mobility, strength and care to be done safely. You’ve also got to have the means to carry your goods home be that a backpack, a basket on your bike or a car. Of course, there is also the risk of the food actually being spoiled or being out of the fridge long enough to breed some nasty bacteria that could cause illness. This is especially important to note for perishable, notably meat, dairy and eggs.
By the sounds of it, dumpster diving can be full of surprises- good and bad. It has a lot of moral and financial benefits behind it in a world full of consumerism, waste and inflation but it also has its terms and conditions- see upper body strength and bacteria. You won’t always have first pick but at the end of the day, if you make your choices wisely, there’s no reason that your dumpster goods can’t provide you with a hearty meal and a sneaky treat for later 😋✨
Sources:
Comments