Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's not a Dumpster -- it's a lifeline
Working poor survive on what Seattle tosses

By Carol Smith
Thursday, May 12, 2005

"...Like thousands of others in Seattle, he has had to find ways to make ends meet. Dumpster diving, he says, helps supplement his wages and reduce his cash outlays for consumer goods. During occasional periods of unemployment, he has gotten almost all his groceries out of Dumpsters..."

"...An Internet-based MeetUp group advertises monthly get-togethers for Dumpster diving in Seattle. The group, founded two years ago, has more than two dozen members, including a university student looking for sources for his senior thesis on Dumpster diving.

The Web abounds with sites that offer advice -- on what to wear when you go diving (black hat, steel-toed boots), what to say if you get caught ("I'm looking for boxes"), helpful tools of the trade..."

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