So the other day, I went running through apartments in my neighborhood as I sometimes do when I've woken up too late to go to the gym.
On this day I saw a sight I had seen before during this early morning ritual - a dumpster diver, sifting through someone's trash.
I began to get upset since loved ones had been the victims of identity theft more than once. So I decided to confront him.
I asked
"How long have you been dumpster diving?"
"3 months, since I got laid off" he replied
"Does it pay well?"
"$100 - 150 a day" He said then added "People throw way all kinds of crazy stuff from electronics to appliances to gold and silver, someone gets mad at their ex and throws out a perfectly fine gold watch"
"OK" I said at a loss on how to continue.
"Gotta do something to keep food on the table" he added.
As I was leaving I thought about how he might have things figured out to a greater degree than most. If he can make $100-$150 a day from about 2-3 hours of work (@$50-$75 an hour) maybe he's on to something. I got the vibe from his demeanor this is not the guy going on an all-expenses-paid by you shopping spree at Macy's. He's just another person trying to get by.
This also made me think about an NPR interview with a company CEO that dumpster dives in his spare time.The really strange thing is there are even online communities of dumpster divers too.
What do you think? Would you dumpster dive if you could do that for a few hours a day or would you take a minimum wage job working 8+ hours a day?
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