MoneySavers & Green Products...

Ever gone for a good dumpster dive? No? Well get to it! This is the most fun activity that my Environmental Society participates in. We wrap ourselves in trash bags and go to a variety of dumpsters all over campus to collect all the goods we can find. On our most recent expedition, we found two pairs of name-brand jeans, a sweet jacket, and an entire college care package from some kid’s Aunt Sharon, filled with gummy worms, Oreos, homemade cookies- the works. Why this seemingly inconsiderate dude ditched the thoughtful present, we ne’er will know. Sigh. But, as they say, what’s one man’s trash is another’s treasure, and, boy, did we appreciate it.

On the weekends I will also go around and collect cans and bottles that are redeemable in New York State. There’s a little note above the bar code that specifies what state the product is redeemable in and for how much. If you live in Maine or Hawaii, you can pretty much redeem anything. It always makes me want to live there. ANYWAY, you simply bring the empty containers to a redemption center (some grocery stores will also redeem them), and then you get money back. It’s excellent.

Don’t forget gloves when you embark upon your dumpster diving adventure, though. You never know what you’ll find in there.

I was recently reading about a Zen Buddhist Temple in Michigan where dumpster diving has become a fundraising activity. One of the temple’s monks explained that “Dumpster diving is actually a modern variant of an ancient tradition by which Buddhist ‘patched-robe monks’ and nuns reclaimed clothing, sometimes from corpses, and would repair garments repeatedly to extend their life as much as possible. Just taking care of a set of clothing to make it last a long time has a spiritual aspect to it.” The items are then sold in a yard sale for cash. Pretty resourceful, eh?

Lastly, be sure to check out Freecycle, which is run through Yahoo Groups. You can enter in your town and find all sorts of wonderful posts from people who just want to give away free things. You can also post some of your own items. I just got a blender and my roommate put up her hedgehog. As you can see, the possibilities are endless!

This is modern day freeganism. It’s incredible. Recycling our items is just another simple way to contribute to the environmental cause. In fact, it couldn’t be easier.

So settle your pride and dive in! You never know what you might find…