On Dumpster Diving Summary

In the esteemed collection 50 Essays, the editors recognize Lars Eighner’s On Dumpster Diving through his capability of heightening the degree and compelling concept of dumpster diving etiquette. Eighner redefines words such as “Dumpster,” by making it its own proper noun, which brings a sense of formality. He cajoles the reader’s perspective towards Dumpster diving in a positive outlook by referring it as an art and that it’s not anomalous for “respectable employed people...find something tempting sticking out of a dumpster” and “brag that they found this or that piece of trash” (108). Eighner exposes the audience the truth behind homelessness; however he also depicts that not all homeless people are winos causing trouble in the neighborhood,

careless. In a way, Eigher’s statement about college students is fair. Even though students are a

In Lars Eighner’s short essay “On Dumpster Diving”, he describes his experience of being homeless and the art of dumpster driving. Eighner prefers being referred to as a scavenger rather than a dumpster driver. Eighner stated “I like the frankness of the word scavenging. I live from refuse of others. I am a scavenger.” (383) He describes scavenging as a full time job, that requires a lot of effort. He believes that if one follows certain guidelines and rules, with doing so this could possibly help one to become efficient. One rule is knowing good place and time to look for food and other items, that could be useful. Another rule is knowing how to eat safely from a dumpster . Eighner said

If American's lived their live waste free, they could avoid this problem if they threw away less, used less packaging and recycled. Another thing that could be avoided, if Americans lived a waste-free life, is the waste of perfectly good food. In, On Dumpster Diving, the author said “Students throw food away around breaks because they do not know whether it has spoiled or will spoil before they return. A typical discard is a half jar of peanut butter. In fact, nonorganic peanut butter does not require refrigeration and is unlikely to spoil in any reasonable time. The student does not know that, and since it is Daddy’s money, the student decides not to take a chance.”(Eighner). This should embarrass most people because everyone has done something like this once or twice in their life, and although students waste a lot of food and other things, they are not the only contributors to all the waste that plagues America each

Yesterday I threw out an old jar of peanut butter with only about an inch left. It no longer served a purpose, as I had purchased a new and improved jar. As I began to toss the jar towards the garbage, I was reminded of an essay I had just read. In his essay Dumpster Diving, Lars Eighner suggests that when we throw away items, homeless people can find a way to make use out of whatever it is. Therefore, if we don't want there to be bums on the street, it is inferred that we shouldn't throw anything extra out. I myself was not supporting the homeless community, or being wasteful, I was just trying to make room in the cabinet. If I would have kept that inch of peanut butter, it wouldn't have made the world's population of homeless people try

The tone of “On Dumpster Diving” is straightforward. In the beginning of Eighner’s essay, he goes straight into talking about dumpster diving, and he does not beat around the bush. For example, in the beginning of his essay, Eighner says, “Long before I began Dumpster diving I was impressed with Dumpsters, enough so that I wrote the Merriam-Webster research service to discover what I could about the word “Dumpster,”’’ (p 1). Eighner describes dumpster diving as his profession. Eighner says, “Eating safely from the Dumpsters involves three principles: using the senses and common sense to evaluate the condition of the found materials, knowing the Dumpsters of a given area and checking them regularly, and seeking always the question “Why was this discarded?”” (p 10).

The article “Waste Not” by Elizabeth Royte was published in March of 2016 in National Geographic Magazine. It depicts the wastefulness of the food industry and shows the path of food from field to consumers’ homes. During the article the story focuses on Tristram Stuart; a food utilizing activist and naturalist, who is gathering wasted food for a food conservation event for the public. Stuart visits many different farms and markets to receive food that is not desirable. Throughout the world nearly one third of food that is grown is thrown away or wasted due to consumer needs and wants. This means that because there is a need and want for good quality food products that not only meet food eatable standards but also

The “Monkey Garden” descriptive writing was one of the most beneficial daily assignments that we have done all year. We received a paper to fill in different categories including images, sounds, emotions etc. After analyzing the writing of Sandra Cisneros we received the chance to do a free write about our favorite place. I thought this process was beneficial because of how we listened to her writings and had to pick out the details when we heard them. When Mrs. Rowe gave us the chance to write our own story, it helped to solidify the recognition of rhetoric within an author’s piece. It helped me use the word choice in the text to figure out the tone of the author, it is similar to reading between the lines. I got the chance to capture a

The consumer culture of America has led to a generation that believes obtaining the latest Iphone or an expensive car is essential for happiness. Eighner, in “On Dumpster Diving,” declares they are wrong. In “On Dumpster Diving,” Eighner describes his unique personal experiences from living on the street, and reflects on the lessons he learned from his experiences. Through meaningful syntax and diction, and a non-critical tone, Eighner challenges the audience to question their futile hunt for meaningless objects and wastefulness, and consider living by the lessons Eighner learned on the streets.

Lars Eighner goes into great detail about his personal history with the lifestyle of scavenging, and recounts the essentials of how to survive while being homeless and solely relying on discarded goods in his essay, "On Dumpster Diving." Eighner endured this style of living for three years after dropping out of college and later losing his job at a mental hospital, being left with nothing but his dog Lizabeth. During this time, Eighner collected an abundance of knowledge regarding: what foods are safe to eat, what items can be found in a dumpster, how to effectively scavenge, and how to correctly comb through a dumpster.

Throughout Eighner’s essay, he utilizes various strategies to explain the process of Dumpster diving and how his personal experiences have shaped his own identity. Starting with a narrative, the author describes his passion for Dumpsters and his financial reasons for becoming a scavenger. Transitioning into a didactic tone, Eighner then defines various terms surrounding this idea of Dumpster diving and contrasts the meaning of a scavenger and scrounger. To him, scavenging is “a sound and honorable niche” (55), while scrounging is crude and demeaning. After comparing the motives of Dumpster divers with average people, he discusses various foods found in Dumpsters and the processes needed to ensure safe and healthy consumption. With a negative attitude towards ignorant college students and wasteful consumers, Eighner begins

In the story “On Dumpster Diving” written by Lars Eighner, he explains what he has to go through to get a meal. Dumpster diving does not mean standing on the edge and driving in like you would a pool. Dumpster diving is more like a scavenger hunt . . . hunting for food.

While some student in University of California Berkeley has left many with a great amount of debt in order to attend the university, others turn to the freegan lifestyle. Many of those students opt into living in squat communities and to dumpster dive as a political statement (Cristopher). The freeganism began popping up on newspapers, magazines, and network stations as they marveled at those who would eat garbage. Many network stations like NBC, ABC, and including Ophra’s show in 20008 were curious about the freegan lifestyle. While a great amount of waste occurs at the end of the food chain, stores, restaurants, and people’s homes as food gets thrown out that can be salvaged. As some student do this not as a way of saving money but rather

Informal collectors refer to individuals that fall on the poverty-line, who travel long distances to collect and sort waste, in open landfills in order to find materials or products that are going to be sold at recycling plants, in exchange for money. Informal collectors help municipalities save substantial amounts of money due to their methods of waste collection, as they work day and night to search for recyclables which are then diverted to recycling plants, instead of landfills. However, informal waste collectors face numerous challenges, regarding health and transportation of waste. With regards to health, they work in open landfills with no protective clothing or equipment, placing them in danger of contracting serious health implications

Recycling and trash is not a problem that has newly been raised in society. Trash, recycling and its removal has been in history for centuries. As long as humans in society consume, there will be the remainder of something that humans see as trash. Society holds a different perspective on trash and recycling that varies from society, culture, tradition and way of life. A matter of perspective of some incidents review that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and if one wastes not, they want not. Rural trash pickup is limited in the state of Iowa for numerous reasons that will be discussed within this project, as well as how rural individuals deal with no trash pickup. The heated argument of some of