This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Bristol chapter.
With many students feeling the pinch of weekly food shops and a growing desire to divest from large scale corporations, movements such as Freeganism are on the rise. One of the staple points of Freeganism is a refusal to engage with the economic system and therefore results in acquiring many items of food, clothing, and furniture through activities such as bin diving. Also known as dumpster diving in the US, this involves sifting through the refuse of shops and restaurants (usually after-hours) to find hidden gems no longer eligible for sale. A much talked about topic, here are Her Campus Bristol’s top tips for successful bin diving.
1. Find the best spot
Shops and restaurants chuck out large amounts of food and other products that are past their sell-by date or damaged in some way, so there are hundreds of potential goldmines all over Bristol. Prime locations are those which have street bins and which tend to have fancy food, as minimal effort is required to sift through the bins. Equally, you are more likely to have better luck at “local” or “express” versions of supermarkets, as they have fewer staff to care about the rubbish and are less likely to store their bins in a locked area.
(Photo credit: Stuff.co.nz)
2. Don’t trespass!
The law is hazy on bin diving, but generally seems to be forgiving if the refuse is put out on the street for collection and if you are doing it because you’re skint and hungry. Never, under any circumstances, try to get into bins which are stored in a gated compound, or which have been locked shut! As soon as you enter private property, or cause damage, that’s illegal!
(Photo credit: Barfblog)
3. Don’t make a mess
Following on from the above point, it is good etiquette to leave the bins tidy when you’re finished “diving”. You’re not a fox and you have manners – get what you came for, then put anything you didn’t back. Stores which find their bins left in a horrendous mess by ransacking students are unlikely to leave them open and accessible for long.
(Photo credit: Barfblog)
4. If in doubt, put it back and don’t eat it!
An additional peril to being caught on the wrong side of the law, by eating food out of bins you risk eating something which has gone past its sell-by date. If you’re careful, however, this is unlikely. Make sure you check all the labels on everything you retrieve and bear in mind that if packaged, fruit and veg is usually safe because you can see what condition it’s in. Bread will likely only ever be a bit stale. If meat and dairy is within its sell-by date it should be okay provided it’s not a warm day and it’s only been in the bin a very short period of time, but this is a point on which you should be VERY careful. If in doubt, put it back.
(Photo credit: Shareable)
5. It never hurts to ask!
Obviously many shops and cafes aren’t going to be super keen on you eating out of their bins, but sometimes, if you want to collect food for distribution or for a cause and you think there’s a chance they might be open to donating old/slightly stale food, it’s worth asking! Independent places are most likely to want to help out, as they have links with the local community, but some chains might be up for it too!
(Photo credit: Cardiff East Transition Group)
(Article photo credit: konbini)