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Art and Science of Dumpster Diving
In step-by-step, illustrated detail, John Hoffman shows you how to use dumpster diving for food, clothing, appliances, furniture, books and other treasures. Discover how to dress for dumpster diving success, work your neighborhood dumpsters, dive a restaurant, use a "bag blade" and "dive stick", handle run-ins with the authorities, convert your trash to cash, and much more! While you are learning all these professional secrets, you will be entertained by outrageous anecdotes from a life-long master diver.
152 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1992
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
March 11, 2008
No. Fuck this guy. I don't want to say you can tell he's a douche from the pictures of him inside with sunglasses on, so... you can tell he's a douche for the fact that he thinks the homeless are competition, the fact that he thinks everybody but him is a stupid asshole, and the fact that he seems to think you, the reader, are a total butthole (but he can help you).
This thing has been sitting in my bathroom for a couple weeks now and every time I open it up I see something new and messed up. Which sucks, because he obviously knows his shit about dumpstern, but he talks shit about the middle class, he CLEARLY hates anyone with money- I don't know what his motivation is to share all his dumpster knowledge.
Somebody [I] should make a zine that distills all the useful information from this thingand eliminates all the bullshit.
This thing has been sitting in my bathroom for a couple weeks now and every time I open it up I see something new and messed up. Which sucks, because he obviously knows his shit about dumpstern, but he talks shit about the middle class, he CLEARLY hates anyone with money- I don't know what his motivation is to share all his dumpster knowledge.
Somebody [I] should make a zine that distills all the useful information from this thingand eliminates all the bullshit.
Read
April 30, 2014"Dumpster diving" is an unfortunate term for a noble pursuit: reclaiming and reusing perfectly good things that are being thrown away by wasteful or lazy people. It is also a political act highly frowned upon in materialistic societies because it removes one from obligate consumerism. And John Hoffman has written the ultimate guide for perfecting the art. A college graduate with a good job, Hoffman doesn't have to Dumpster dive: he loves to, and lives better--and more freely--because of it. In nations like America, there is an incredible amount of great stuff--often in great shape--thrown out every day. And Hoffman tells you how to claim it as your own. At this point, I have a confession to make: I am a sometime Dumpster diver myself. Almost all of the furniture in our house has been found abandoned on the streets in our upper-middle-class neighborhood or nearby college campuses: sofas, tables, bookcases, lamps... you name it--even some of our several household computers! Personally, I wouldn't do some of what Hoffman advocates (such as diving for food), but as in the tradition of all Loompanics Press books, this is a no-holds-barred, tell-all book that assumes its readers can make decisions appropriate to their own lives.
January 31, 2021
This was a re-read for me. I love this book. Yes, I must be a weirdo.
I can't really disagree with any of the negative comments either.
I've owned this book 10+ years, and I've probably looked in all of 5 dumpsters and never found anything, but I don't love this book for being a guide to dumpster diving. I love it as a weird and quirky memoir, with a strong undercurrent of 'pull yourself up by the bootstraps' philosophy. Whenever I'm going through hard times, it reminds me to look for unconventional solutions.
I can't really disagree with any of the negative comments either.
I've owned this book 10+ years, and I've probably looked in all of 5 dumpsters and never found anything, but I don't love this book for being a guide to dumpster diving. I love it as a weird and quirky memoir, with a strong undercurrent of 'pull yourself up by the bootstraps' philosophy. Whenever I'm going through hard times, it reminds me to look for unconventional solutions.
December 5, 2009
Wow I am just being bombarded by self-righteous authors beating their own drums lately. Maybe I need to stop reading non-fiction, or maybe it's a reminder to stop being such a self-righteous prick myself.
This guy would steal a half-eaten pear from a baby. Ok maybe not, but this is a book written about how to live off society's garbage, by a man who will take anything he can get from anyone. He mentions many times how he finds hundreds of blank checks in trash cans. A warning to readers not to throw these things away? No, in this case it's more an invitation into the rich life of the dumpster diver.
He did get me excited about ways I could successfully alter the flow of waste away from landfill and toward my own compost. I already happily pilfer old boxes and newspapers from the library recycling, but that is easy and clean. I am not going to jump in a dumpster, as much as I wish I could keep all usable, recyclable, and compostable items out of them. Once they are in, it's going to be up to somebody else to fetch them. Somebody like this asshole, who makes it his life's work to take everything he can.
For example, they mention grabbing as many sauce packets as you can fit in your purse when you're at a restaurant, for later use. That is not sequestering waste, that is ripping off a business. Sure, I have done that too, but it is not a model way to live. Taking garbage, great; but people shouldn't have to worry about some dick stealing everything that's not nailed down.
Yet another book I didn't bother finishing. But wait, there's a sequel! I gave this two stars because it did inspire me a little bit. And he gets some points for being so freakin' unconventional. I am all for dumpster diving, the more the better. It ought to be legal and officially encouraged. I just don't want this guy in my neighborhood.
This guy would steal a half-eaten pear from a baby. Ok maybe not, but this is a book written about how to live off society's garbage, by a man who will take anything he can get from anyone. He mentions many times how he finds hundreds of blank checks in trash cans. A warning to readers not to throw these things away? No, in this case it's more an invitation into the rich life of the dumpster diver.
He did get me excited about ways I could successfully alter the flow of waste away from landfill and toward my own compost. I already happily pilfer old boxes and newspapers from the library recycling, but that is easy and clean. I am not going to jump in a dumpster, as much as I wish I could keep all usable, recyclable, and compostable items out of them. Once they are in, it's going to be up to somebody else to fetch them. Somebody like this asshole, who makes it his life's work to take everything he can.
For example, they mention grabbing as many sauce packets as you can fit in your purse when you're at a restaurant, for later use. That is not sequestering waste, that is ripping off a business. Sure, I have done that too, but it is not a model way to live. Taking garbage, great; but people shouldn't have to worry about some dick stealing everything that's not nailed down.
Yet another book I didn't bother finishing. But wait, there's a sequel! I gave this two stars because it did inspire me a little bit. And he gets some points for being so freakin' unconventional. I am all for dumpster diving, the more the better. It ought to be legal and officially encouraged. I just don't want this guy in my neighborhood.
December 9, 2011
Everyone else seems to think that this guy comes off sounding like a jerk, but I'm just not seeing it. It was a cool book about Dumpster Diving. While I didn't really enjoy it all that much because I already knew most of what it had in it, it did give me some interesting ideas about bookstores and flower shops, and was filled with neat ideas that I had never thought about trying before.
Overall not a bad book on the subject, it brings some new stuff to the table. Although it is a bit repetitive.
Overall not a bad book on the subject, it brings some new stuff to the table. Although it is a bit repetitive.
September 25, 2023
Starts out interesting, but then spirals into crazy weirdo-territory.
My issues were not with dumpster-diving (I wouldn't have picked up this book if that were the case), but with the political views, the coarse language towards police and government, gun-fanatism sprinkled with racist and xenophobic remarks.
This book (outdated and American-centric, only based on the author's personal experience)was much like a visit to the local landfill.... underneath a lot of crap, one or two little pieces of useful information.
My issues were not with dumpster-diving (I wouldn't have picked up this book if that were the case), but with the political views, the coarse language towards police and government, gun-fanatism sprinkled with racist and xenophobic remarks.
This book (outdated and American-centric, only based on the author's personal experience)was much like a visit to the local landfill.... underneath a lot of crap, one or two little pieces of useful information.
July 12, 2009
I read this book years ago, during my shifts at Crescent Wrench Bookstore & Infoshop. Ah, those were the days.
My favorite part of this book is the author's unapologetic attitude. He's a dumpster diver and damn proud of it. He holds his head up high, no reason to be ashamed.
This book is filled with tips, tricks, and techniques, Really, everything you need to know about dumpster diving is here.
My favorite part of this book is the author's unapologetic attitude. He's a dumpster diver and damn proud of it. He holds his head up high, no reason to be ashamed.
This book is filled with tips, tricks, and techniques, Really, everything you need to know about dumpster diving is here.
April 15, 2008
Strangely fascinating book. Not your normal coffee table book.
March 1, 2016
Quality information, outdated in places, poor and unprofessionally printed images, with some sweet honest, humanistic commentary alongside awful awful awful rhetoric. Evoking wild-haired windbag political actors. Wonder where this author is now.
For better information with less of an agenda check out online resources like this freegan site: http://freegan.info/what-is-a-freegan...
I'd give the book three stars if there weren't better information available elsewhere.
For better information with less of an agenda check out online resources like this freegan site: http://freegan.info/what-is-a-freegan...
I'd give the book three stars if there weren't better information available elsewhere.
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July 27, 2008Not just entertainment, this is educational! A must-read for those who like free stuff and/or dislike wastefulness in our society. Had a definite impact on me starting in junior high school. A perennial favorite in my library.
August 28, 2016
amusing, bizarre, practical, ranting - what more could you want in a dumpster diving manual?
August 12, 2023
I really liked it. I would almost call it humor, except I know he is serious. My gears always start spinning when I read stuff like this. Could I do this? Could I make it work? What would be the benefit?
Really enjoyable book.
Really enjoyable book.
March 28, 2019
It would be nice if the author’s awareness of waste and his political mindset were tempered by a touch of compassion.
Someone should rewrite this book- strip all the information out of it and repackage it without the posturing- rather than viewing homeless people who don’t dumpster dive as ‘not doing anything to change their situation’. Disappointing.
Oh, and a definite touch of misogyny- no mention of how diving might be more dangerous for women, but plenty of references to finding nude photos/personal information of female classmates.
If you want to see someone salvage food from a dumpster, watch the documentary “Just Eat It”, which is a much better, nuanced look at the issue.
Someone should rewrite this book- strip all the information out of it and repackage it without the posturing- rather than viewing homeless people who don’t dumpster dive as ‘not doing anything to change their situation’. Disappointing.
Oh, and a definite touch of misogyny- no mention of how diving might be more dangerous for women, but plenty of references to finding nude photos/personal information of female classmates.
If you want to see someone salvage food from a dumpster, watch the documentary “Just Eat It”, which is a much better, nuanced look at the issue.
October 5, 2024
I was expecting interesting stories from the golden age of dumpster diving. Instead it's a ver y out of date guide that is now pretty useless.
The one rule of dumpster diving was to never do it for profit, and yet the author openly discusses both taking items to sell and writing this book entirely for profit. You don't take things you don't need, and you help others where you can (without charging them)
The one rule of dumpster diving was to never do it for profit, and yet the author openly discusses both taking items to sell and writing this book entirely for profit. You don't take things you don't need, and you help others where you can (without charging them)
January 17, 2016
If you can get through the long and tedious rants about the evils of government and the police, this book has some very good advice about what it takes to be successful at retrieving useful items from the trash.
His constant "railing against the machine" gets real old real fast. You can skip directly to chapter 5 and not miss anything of consequence at all. Some of his recommendations are not really feasible for city dwellers (not a great need for slopping pigs in my neighborhood) but a lot of his practical advice is really useful.
Plan to go out for my first dive once the weather warms up a little.
His constant "railing against the machine" gets real old real fast. You can skip directly to chapter 5 and not miss anything of consequence at all. Some of his recommendations are not really feasible for city dwellers (not a great need for slopping pigs in my neighborhood) but a lot of his practical advice is really useful.
Plan to go out for my first dive once the weather warms up a little.
April 8, 2015
t's obvious that this author does not respect police calling them perverted swine. There were some helpful tips between the homeless bashing and the police disrespect. He also makes a lot of references to finding/bartering blank checks and cut up credit cards, encouraging the reader to commit identity theft.
You could easily rename this book Art and Science of Lowering Your Living Standards.
You could easily rename this book Art and Science of Lowering Your Living Standards.
April 25, 2008
This book gets the default three star rating, but just by a hair. The information contained within The Art and Science... was useful (made me want to scope out the neighbourhood), but the author himself was the sort of self-righteous prick that, if I ever had to encounter in person, I would either ignore or deck.
October 27, 2010
Pretty arrogant and not terribly useful.
October 12, 2010
Some good tips, but I wasnt crazy about the author's personality/voice.
November 21, 2010
Funny, self-deprecating and honest. Amy Dacyczyn was right...funny, maybe a bit overly political, but a valuable resource and completely worth not only a read...but using as a manual. Free your mind!
November 17, 2013
John Hoffman is a loco dick but there was some good information in here.
March 10, 2014
I have been Diving/Canning "Canning with Cathy" on FB for almost a year and everything this guy says holds true for what I've found. Great intro into Diving....
March 31, 2017
He writes that it's rare to find alcohol in dumpsters. The first time I dived an apartment building dumpster, inspired by this book, I found a sixpack of Becks. Never happened again, though.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews