Dumpster Diving Analysis

Lars Eighner has always been fascinated with dumpsters. He states in his essay that he even reached out to the Merriam-Webster service to learn what he could about the word “Dumpster” (139). A year before his unfortunate homelessness, Eighner started a hobby, and to some a lifestyle, called “Dumpster diving” (139). Throughout his story, Eighner teaches his audience the do’s and do not’s of dumpster diving, how to eat dumpster food safely and ultimately the wastefulness that lies within our society. Eighner starts off with eating safely from dumpsters and the three principles to abide by: knowing the dumpsters of a given area, using your senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the food, and always asking the most important question “Why was this discarded?” (140). While most food is thrown away for a reason, there is still a
perfectly good amount that was haphazardly thrown away. Canned foods, for instance, show up regularly and are probably the safest of all dumpster foods to eat (141).
Unfortunately, food poisoning can happen. While most forms of food poisoning are easily treated, botulism is still a real threat and is lethal to people. Punctured, dented, or rusty cans should be avoided. Botulism isn’t just a dumpster diving only thing though; always make sure to check the cans in your pantry and follow your instinct to determine whether something is edible or not. Food isn’t the only thing found in a dumpster. Eighner states that he also found books, toilet paper, bedding, candles, a virgin male love doll, and even dollars’ worth of change in dumpsters (140). Dumpsters also have stories, as well. Love letters, shredded wedding photos, personal journals and more have been found in the bottom of a dumpster, signifying a chapter closed and a possible beginning (148). One man’s trash was once one man’s everything. The stages one goes through when first beginning to scavenge is understandable, if not predictable.
A newly bound scavenger can feel ashamed and disgusted at first, urgently ducking from the judgmental glares of onlookers. This soon dissipates though, and the diver grows to understand that diving is not a bad thing. When the diver begins to understand, they also begin to care less of what others think and can enjoy their newfound lifestyle. Most divers realize the importance of restriction with items, even though some divers cannot resist the urge to take anything they can get. The most important lesson gained from Eighner’s essay was not only the means on how to survive if one is ever in this situation, but the amount of perfectly good stuff that has been carelessly thrown away. Eighner perpetually points out a very good point; we are, in fact, very wasteful beings. To us, everything is replaceable. We do not value the things we have to their full potential; and so when it eventually ends up in the trash, buried under broken eggs and spilled coffee grinds, it becomes a treasure to someone eager enough to appreciate
it.