“Dumpster divers” or “freegans” search through garbage to find food and other useful items in it and – as far as possible – live on it.
Their goal: to protest against the throwaway society and constant consumption.
“Dumpster Diver” means “garbage diver”. Containers are often referred to as well. Because it's not about individual people's private waste - the garbage containers of grocers, large supermarkets and other institutions attract the "dumpster diver".
With their seemingly extreme actions, many activists want to make it clear that far too much good, edible food is being thrown away. The garbage divers accuse our throwaway society and ultimately want to boycott the entire economic system. But there are also a lot of people who pick up food from the trash because they can't afford to buy it. Even if there are organizations like “Die Tafel” where people with low incomes can get food for a small fee, they don’t always want to or can’t use these facilities.
[mk_ad]
Movement and countermovement
There are forums where garbage divers meet up to collect containers together or exchange information about the best places in the city. That might not sound tasty at first. But: What they collect is also eaten, and some make large and delicious meals out of it, which anyone who wants to can take part in. In some cases, however, the supermarkets build fences around the containers - this is intended to prevent containers, because the supermarkets naturally want people to buy the products from them instead of taking them out of the trash and not paying anything for them.
Consumption and system criticism
It's not just throwing away, many activists argue: no matter what you buy, you're always supporting a company or system that exploits nature, people or animals. All products would ultimately have a harmful impact on something or someone. So the only option would be to consume as little as possible directly. And there is definitely something to that - you could name countless products that have to do with the destruction of the rainforest, the exploitation of workers, the extinction of animal species or even wars. The list is endless, and as consumers we are indeed actively participating in it.
Some initiatives also go even further in their demands - against cars or gasoline consumption, for squatting, an ecological way of life or against work in the traditional sense, because then you are part of the system and support it. It's just difficult to live this consistently: What is e.g. B. with activists who make a living from waste but also live with their parents? It's just difficult to want to become independent of a system in which you ultimately live. The paradox remains: If you consume the waste of the economic system, you are actually part of it again - it has to come from somewhere. Hmmm…
[mk_ad]
Caution is advised
Even if there are different reasons for getting food out of the garbage - the garbage divers who could afford it probably want to set an example and demonstrate how useful the garbage often still is in our society. When you look at pictures with full containers, you really start to wonder whether everything really needs to be thrown away. But if you get your breakfast from the supermarket bin, you have to be careful what you get! It's not just visually unappealing food that is thrown away, but also really spoiled things.
In addition, from a legal point of view, the waste belongs to the supermarkets until it is picked up. And as a rule, the containers are located on the premises of the trading company - so if you use the container, you can expect a report for trespassing. The question of whether containers should remain illegal or not is also very controversial .
Article image by Lipik Stock Media / Shutterstocck.com
Also interesting:
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

