Hi, everyone. I had hoped to get this out earlier but decided to enter it in the guest writer competition over at CPNs blog. It won so now I can post it. If you haven't visited the site before, I will give you a direct link so you can go explore it. This post was meant to stand alone but it is sort of a Part 2 of the post - Taking Advantage of Folly. http://internationalpreppersnetwork.net/viewtopic.php?f=57&t=4388
I look forward to enjoying the other competitors writings as Denob posts them in the following weeks.
Here is a derided and neglected prepper skill set that is only talked about on the far edges of the survivalist world. I want every one to know about it...just encase.
http://www.canadianpreppersnetwork.com/2013/11/the-survival-science-of-dumpster-diving.html
I have a Tactical Harness and I have a Tool Belt. The Tool Belt is more Useful.
Congrat's on winning the Writing Contest
Excellent article C5 and well written. I certainly enjoyed reading through (3 times in all).
Ancedotal entertaining with some good info too. We really really need to change the waste stream, we need something to remove liability for those who would then happily allow food and such to be salvaged rather than see it go to waste . It is horrific how much waste we have in our culture here. Thanks for sharing this, I too found good value.
Well, I got to say, I never thought about dumpster diving, but I see the point. In my past military days, I've always been heartbroken to see the amount of food thrown out at the cafeterias, especially during (or right after) large exercises. Reefers deployed to field locations often come back with large amounts of food left and the policies are that the food couldn't be brought back in the warehouse. It used to be that some of the food would be given to food banks, but thanks to greedy lawyers, this is now seen as a liability to the military (Heaven forbid someone *may* get sick! instead let's contribute to their malnutrition...). During one of the last exercises I've seen , I've picked up a case of oranges and another of apples from someone just about to toss them. A couple other guys took some fruits and unopened loaves of bread too. Had I known better, I could have picked up hundred of jam, peanut butter, salt, pepper, pancake syrup, etc packets. Hundreds as in cases almost full.
Now that most bases don't control access and that their dumpsters aren't usually locked, those dumpsters behind cafeterias may be essentially treasure chests full of goodies. If you live near one, try to become buddy with some of the folks. Ask about exercises and drive on the base on a reconnaissance trip (avoiding clearly marked out of bounds places off course!).
Ok, perhaps military bases aren't the safest place to go dumpster diving, but I'm guessing that more institution places with a cafeteria may offer great opportunities too (just not as good as post ex military bases though...)
On a different thought now, C5 brought up the idea of a safety vest to maybe pass as a worker (and for safety sake). I was wondering about pretending to be a dumpster company inspector, maybe a clipboard with WM logo on it? There are laws against impersonation, but that is mostly for police officers and other officials; I wouldn't think anyone would be charged for impersonating a garbage company manager... Thoughts?
Happy diving!