dumpster-diving
Rescuing discarded goods
Dumpster-diving is searching through commercial trash receptacles for discarded items of value—food, furniture, electronics, documents.
Some do it from necessity, others as a lifestyle choice rejecting waste culture.
The term extends figuratively to any search through rejected material: dumpster-diving through old code, dumpster-diving the archives.
Also appears as a verb: We dumpster-dived behind the bakery.
Recovering damaged goods
- rummageSearch unsystematically through clutter
- scroungingSeeking handouts resourcefully
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
- gleaningCollecting leftover grain
rescuing · reclaiming · pickings · haul · finds · treasures · discards · throwaways
Improving discarded materials' value
- recyclingReprocessing used materials
- reuseEmploy something again
- repurposeAdapt for new use
- anti-consumerismOpposition to excessive acquisition
zero-waste · environmentalism · conservation · composting · eco-friendly · secondhand · thrifting · reclamation
Lacking permanent residence
- povertySevere lack of resources
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- desperationUtter loss of hope
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
resourcefulness · hardship · make-do · hand-to-mouth · destitution · hunger · unhoused · houseless
One eating discarded food
- activismDirect effort for reform
- anticapitalismOpposition to market economies
- counterculturalOpposing mainstream society
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
community · zine · punk · anarchist · collective · sharing · abundance
salvage
Recovering damaged goods
- rummageSearch unsystematically through clutter
- scroungingSeeking handouts resourcefully
- foragingSeeking wild food sources
gleaning · rescuing · reclaiming · pickings · haul · finds · treasures · discards · throwaways · leftovers
upcycling
Improving discarded materials' value
anti-consumerism · zero-waste · environmentalism · conservation · composting · eco-friendly · secondhand · thrifting · reclamation · salvage
homelessness
Lacking permanent residence
- povertySevere lack of resources
- necessityIndispensable requirement
- desperationUtter loss of hope
subsistence · resourcefulness · hardship · make-do · hand-to-mouth · destitution · hunger · unhoused · houseless · need
freegan
One eating discarded food
- activismDirect effort for reform
- anticapitalismOpposition to market economies
- counterculturalOpposing mainstream society
underground · community · zine · punk · anarchist · collective · sharing · abundance
dumpster-divingluxury shopping
Purchasing costly, prestigious merchandise
conspicuous consumption · splurging · haute couture · shopping sprees · keeping up with the Joneses
dumpster-divingthrowing away
Discarding as refuse
discarding · wasting · trashing · disposing · tossing out