Heres the story of my first night stifling through someones elses garbage. The genre is almost definitely a Rom-Com, where I play the role of what can only be described as ‘The poor mans James Bond”. Obviously my mission isn’t to kill Elliot Carver (aka the High Sparrow), but it is in a way to save the world. By making sure good shit doesn’t get thrown in landfill to degrade over the next 10000000000000 years.
For anyone who isn’t aware what dumpster diving is, basically its going headfirst into a garbage bin to look for things that might be useful or worth something. Or more elegantly, as I now like to put it; “The art of diving into a dumpster, to find buried treasure”!
If you’ve been reading my blog here on steemit, youll know I recently quit my job, and my new source of immediate income is macbook sales and repairs. Im always in need of spare parts and other bits, Apple related, so if ever there was a place to dive; it would be an apple-authorised retailer. And if ever there was a time to start, it would be now.
The Misson begins!
Tonight was the night, and with no time to spare and the help of google maps, I do a quick satellite recon to find the bins of the computer shop, and map the easiest route to get the car close enough to the binyard. I also make an emergency getaway plan - In case of emergency. My plan seems bulletproof. I set off in the car, looking extra shifty, low beams on, and drive a solid 8 minutes to the target destination.
11.04pm - I arrive under the cover of darkness, stealth mode on, to identify the bins to go for. Out of the 4 available, 3 were cardboard recycling (thanks for doing the earth a favour – and me). Unfortunately im not here for cardboard – im here for the treasure! Approaching cautiously, I notice this bin doesn’t smell like shit. Of course not, I thought, its filled with computers and gold bullion!
With the adrenal glands on full power, I grab the lid and start to pull. But alas – my first challenge of the night has arisen.
The dreaded PADLOCK!
All hope of finding treasure should have diminished within that moment. But NO! Not tonight. Tonight was not the night to give up. This dumpster was going to be opened one way or another. I scanned for weakness. My first instinct being the plastic lid might just bend under the front pole enough to open. Nope. My fingers just weren’t strong enough. This would require strategy over brute force.
I did another scan of the bin and took a closer look at the mechanism. At the back there was another pole which allows the lids to swivel open and close. If I can slide it out I can get in through the back. It doesn’t slide first go, but theres only a tiny rusty pin holding it in place. A WEAK spot! I hit the pin with a rock and it pops out first time. Stage one complete. Now ive got to slide the pole out – but the epic cardboard dumpster is too close and I cant slide it out far enough. Im going to have to engage - instinctive strength. Using my legs to kick off the back ledge I angle the bin enough to give the pole some wiggle room. This thing is heavy, must be all the treasures inside!
Finally I slide the pole out and pop off the back. I don’t take it off all the way, but pull it back enough to raise it over the front pole, so it opens like a normal bin. Less suspicion and less chance of being done for vandalism if im caught.
Time is ticking away now, ive been quiet but ive noticed the cleaner inside the building next door. Must be quick and efficient to ensure he doesn’t see me.
(After this the images from the gopro are pretty much unusable due to the lack of light. Next time i will go with a headtorch and camera settings adjusted)
Theres a lot of paper. That’s fine, although there is a recycling bin literally next to us so im slightly baffled at the same time. First item I come to. An iphone lightning charger cable! Get in! A great first find. Although I have a iphone 4s so its useless to me, but either way its going into the treasure pile.
A few fans, couple of cables, hard drive enclose then – oh whats this – 2 brand new 4gb ram sticks. That will do very nicely! I keep digging. A few more charger cables, more paper and I realise the treasure on top is wearing thin.
I go deeper but it’s a struggle, I don’t want to commit my whole body to the bin just yet and im on my tip toes. Time for a reshuffle. I head round the back of the bin and pull the pole out a bit more. I should state, theres two lids on this thing. One on the left, one on the right. Ive been on the left, but now its time for the right. Same procedure. Pole slides out, shuffle the lid up and im in again.
More paper. What are these legends playing at! No time for recycling anger now though, im against the clock. I skim through and my hand hits something square. I pull up the foam and underneath I see an iMac! Hoorah, First legit treasure. Ok its got no screen but I can still work with the shell and the additional components inside. I pull it out, and as I do I see another base stand. This ones heavier, but I still got the guns to pull through. Hulk mode engaged - I pull it up and..
Its another iMac, with screen intact! This has got to have made the trip worth while. My treasure pile is building but again, the top layer of rubbish is wearing thin. I hit something else and voila, an old desktop PC. No use to me but I got some peeps in the biz who might be interested in it. Nothing else I can see just through skimming, Time to call it a day. With lightning speed I put the bin back together and muscle up to wheel it back in place. The car is 20 meters away, but I have to do two trips. Ninja style engaged. Throwing stars away and car keys out I leg it back to the car, first with both the iMacs, then back for the rest of the goodies.
Key in, engine on. Boom – we are out of here.
Mission success.
After a short drive im back home and plant all my treasures on the floor and stick the kettle on. Time for a coffee. Decaf of course, its 12am. Time to kick back and relax. Product testing can be done tomorrow morning – right now ive got a story to write…
Its true what they say; one mans trash is another mans treasure. And im almost 100% sure this was one of the lesser value dives that will occur as I do this more often. I have a couple more locations on my target list, and a bit more planning to do regarding bin collection days. I may also acquire a team mate for the future.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this story and I look forward to writing more in the coming months. Next time with clearer pictures. If you are guilty of throwing away good shit, please, keep doing it. Il be round in a jiffy to dive dive dive.
Have an awesome weekend legends!