I have to say, I live in a pretty nice neighborhood, which is what makes this sight even more bizarre:
Several times a week, I see people dressed in nice clothing - this lady had on a blazer and the guy a suit - digging through the garbages on my street. It's true that the majority of the residents are fairly well-to-do, so you see some pretty nice stuff sitting out there at times - TV, washing machines, etc. But it never stays for long - I can go to the gym and come back 45min later and things are already gone!
And then you have the people like in the photo above, who are hunting for food. I'm not sure if you can see from the picture, but they have 2 very full shopping carts, and are working on filling the third. We watched them pull out of there:
-several heads of lettuce
-5 leeks
-a bunch of bananas
-a few pears
-3 liters of milk
-2 yogurts
-a sack of potatoes
-and so on
I'm assuming these were the poubelles from the grocery store down the street, but still! I can't figure out for the life of me why two well-dressed people would go through them on a regular basis. At one point, the lady took off her blazer, tipped the garbage to the side and actually crawled into it to get at the bottom. She pulled out a bunch of grapes that were covered in some kind of white liquid, brushed them off a bit, and then stuck them in the cart.
But what for?? Are they dumpster diving? Working for a food shelter? It's a mystery!
Labels: Neighborhood oddities
posted by Ksam @ 10:24 PM
9 Comments:
Weird! I wonder what they are up to?
I've heard about this. It's the latest craze among some fringe environmentalist to "protect the earth." They eat the things other people throw away so there is less waste overall. It's like they consider it their mission in life. There is a huge movement in several cities in North America and Europe.
Here is one website that discusses it:
http://www.emoware.org/dumpster-diving/
Do some google searching on it. There are tips for how to do it in several languages!
Maybe they are freegans?
Did they take any non-food items?
-A
I see this every garbage day here in the 3eme. The same young girl. I watched her the other day for awhile. There was someone who moved out of the building across the street. So there was plenty of electronics etc...She was taking the wires of the appliances (i.e. cutting off the cords). Not really bothering with the clothes or food. Like I said I see her almost every few days up and down the streets in our neighborhood. She's about 25 or so. It's her job I am assuming...because she does not look homeless
I've got to say, I'm a dumpster diver. Actually, I'm more of a "find great stuff next to the dumpster" diver. It's just such a waste to leave it! But I haven't gone in...and I haven't taken food. Until May, when I was in the states visiting my kids. They are experts. After we came back with four grocery bags full of fully frozen, boxed or canned items, all within their "sell by" date... and had a veritable feast...I became a believer. I'm still not ready to dive in head first. But I'm willing to partake in the loot!
http://delana-dujour.blogspot.com/2010/03/one-persons-trash.html
Really interesting and such a comment on our times. Just shows you how much goes to waste in modern society.
is it dumpster diving and freegan -- where you eat only foraged or scavenged food, like riana lagarde sometimes tries to do?
i'm all for dumpster diving, but even i wouldn't do it in business attire!
You should watch the movie/documentary Les Glaneur et La Glaneuse. It tells you a little bit about people who do that kind of thing. Some people need it, other believe in avoiding waste, etc. I think there is even a name: freeganism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism
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