Dumpster Diving In Texas – Is It Legal To Take Someone Else’s Trash?
We all have done what others consider weird. But, hey to each his own. Right? For what it's worth I consider myself to be a little weird because I like to clean other people's stuff. So, when it comes to Dumpster Diving who am I to point fingers?
It's not exactly my cup of tea, but there appear to be folks who find this dirty hobby intriguing. They have a whole dumpster-diving community Facebook page of a few thousand people from across the country who do it on the regular. Who knew?
Obviously, there are people who dumpster dives out of necessity due to poverty. These people are just trying to live looking for clothes, sometimes food, and would probably rather do anything else but that.
However, thousands do this "on purpose" for a variety of other reasons: For personal use, to make a profit by selling the items they find, or, as an act of protest against a wasteful society. What's interesting people say they've made a great living dumpster diving two and three times a week!
One couple reported to Business Insider they make at least $3,000 a month selling trash! Can you imagine? Another woman said she gets her families food exclusively from grocery store dumpsters.
This may seem like a pretty straightforward forward side-hustle, digging through various trash cans and looking for treasures as one man put it. Some businesses find dumpster divers to be a nuisance and complain that they make a mess digging through the trash or cause damage to their dumpsters when they lock them. It's because of this that a lot of states have banned dumpster diving.
IS DUMPSTER DIVING LEGAL IN TEXAS?
It depends on who's trash you're going through and what part of Texas you're in. So you'll know, there are a lot of gray areas and dumpster diving can even lead to criminal charges. To learn more about the do's and don'ts of taking other people's trash here is some advice from a Texas attorney and Chanclea, Jesse Hernandez.
@texaschancla Is it legal to dumpster dive in Texas? 🚮 ##viral##texas##lawyer##tx##law##dumpsterdiving##trash ♬ Conspiracy - Kieran Rogers
It might do some good to take this attorney's advice and mind the laws in your state. Be safe everyone. Happy dumpster diving!
For what it's worth, dumpster diving is legal in Louisiana. However, there is a wrong and right way to go about taking trash from various business dumpsters and those located on private property. Here are more details on Louisiana Dumpster Diving laws.
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Gallery Credit: Bethany Adams
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