New York takes to heart the adage about one man's trash being another man's treasure.
Starting with spring cleaning and peaking as college students move out of their dorms and June 1st moving dates approach, the city's sidewalks are currently fertile ground for those willing to do whatever it takes to transport a good sidewalk score home.
Dumpster diving had a moment of high visibility last week, as the set for the David Letterman show went into the trash outside of the Ed Sullivan theatre and superfans swarmed, seeking souvenirs.
@bethd_ I salvaged these two comic books from Letterman's dumpster. pic.twitter.com/4INpsroeQX
— Norm Augustinus (@normaugustinus) May 26, 2015
But last week also marked the annual observation, among neighbors of the city's instutitions of higher education, of "punk christmas" — dorm room moveout at NYU, Columbia, and other places where the student body leaves behind its furnishings, textbooks, and other possessions not worth shipping home.
I have a Fjallraven mini backpack full of essays about Paris is Burning fresh from a dumpster at NYU
— joe castle baker (@joecastlebaker) May 26, 2015
You should join me at this Meetup. NYU Dorm Dumpster Dive Check it out and RSVP! http://t.co/gvpfk8IO36
— Muhammad Atif (@MuhammadAtif_) May 18, 2015
@NefferLeMort any good loot this year?? I did it a little while back and found a brand new iPod
— James Crugnale (@jamescrugnale) May 18, 2015
Yea Upper West Side! 1 stop shopping! Forget about those high end stores, Mother Dumpster knows what's best #freegan pic.twitter.com/9Bwe88ZxPi
— Norm Alan Thology (@normalanthology) May 24, 2015
Much is made of the novelty of dumpster diving in New York City, especially when its practitioners are fairly normal-seeming people:
Ever go #dumpsterdiving? In NYC, this woman gets her everyday items - including food - from the trash: http://t.co/Cf0U9VeLfu
— Diana Blass (@dianablass) May 21, 2015
This makes the "homeless or "hipster?" game much more challenging [Sharing the Wealth at a Dumpster Divers’ Feast] http://twurl.nl/hgribg
— Jeremy Redleaf (@TheLeafisRed) August 30, 2010
"How To Live Like a Middle-class New Yorker on $5000/yr." Involves dumpster diving; define 'middle-class,' I say. http://t.co/WR5C32huWJ
— Kristy Eldredge (@AnnKittenplan) May 21, 2015
But going through the trash is a long established part of life in the Big Apple. Just ask the day trippers who visit Dead Horse Bay (a trip which is perhaps more fun than going to Manhattan Criminal Court).
NYC travel tip: visit this trash-covered Brooklyn beach and scavenge 'til your heart's content. http://t.co/8PVv8Gv4eG
— Ella Morton (@ellamorton) January 6, 2014