Category Archives: Freegan

Falling Fruit: Foraging Friend

Ever see a bunch of rotten apples at the bottom of a tree and wish you’d arrived earlier? If only you’d known about that tree a few weeks ago…if only there was a way to map “public fruit.” Soon, there will be an app for that. Falling Fruit, a resource for finding global urban edibles, […]

June 2, 2014 | Also posted in Technology, Tree Gleaning | Comments closed

Fresh From the Garbage

If this video doesn’t make you want to go dumpster diving, I doubt anything will. Waste Cooking is an Austrian reality show that began airing on television in December (episodes are also online minus the subtitles). Divers hunt and gather what treasures they can from the trash and hold public cooking demonstrations to tempt passersby […]

January 7, 2013 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Unharvested fruit from backyard trees is certainly a waste. But we don’t often put uneaten mushrooms or nuts in that same category. But, this DIY.org page brimming with foraging resources does. — — Massachusetts will be banning commercial food waste from landfills in 2014. If you want to nerd out on the policy process, have […]

September 21, 2012 | Also posted in Alphabet Produce, Friday Buffet, Household, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Giving Composting the Old College Try

Forget football, the real news coming out of State College, Penn., this fall could be composting touching down. The borough is considering a move to the two bin system: compostable organics and other trash. State College will host a public hearing to gauge opinion on the proposal in early October. In addition to keeping organics […]

September 14, 2011 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed

Dive! Giveaway

The kind folks at First Run Features have given me three copies of the dumpster diving documentary Dive! to pass along to you fine readers. Lucky you! I’m sure you’ll enjoy the film, as Dive! uses honesty and humor to illustrate the extent of retail food waste. We see director Jeremy Seifert and his freegan friends […]

August 10, 2011 | Also posted in Supermarket | Comments closed

Music for a Good Dumpster Dive

If you could use a little pick-me-up this morning or some inspiration for hitting the Dumpsters, you could do worse than the Black Lips’ Dumpster Dive. Perhaps fittingly, it’s the last track on their MySpace site and their album… I ain’t seen some good trash since I…since I don’t know when… While I can’t make out […]

June 20, 2011 | Also posted in History and Culture | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Great news from the bottom of the food waste hierarchy: Waste Management has invested in a composting company. They’ve been sniffing around the idea for a while, so it’s encouraging to see them invest in it. — — Mary Baldwin College of Virginia reduced waste by 60% during their Sustainable Meal Week! Really shows how much […]

May 6, 2011 | Also posted in College, Composting, Friday Buffet, International, Waste Stream | Comments closed

Arrested Freegan Followup

On Friday, I linked to the story of the British woman arrested for taking what a Tesco discards. This story lends a few further details on Sacha Hall, the English woman arrested for “stealing trash. For example, she worked at a rival supermarket! We also learn that the accused the store had discarded the food […]

February 22, 2011 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

English police arrested a woman who took waffles, pies and other goods thrown out by an English food retailer after the store lost power for a while. The craziest part is that the police tracked her down later at her home and took her away in handcuffs. Here’s a sensible commentary on the matter. — — […]

February 18, 2011 | Also posted in Energy, Friday Buffet, Household, International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

I’ve always enjoyed the Worldwatch Institute’s State of the World reports. But now I really like them after the State of the World Report 2011 classifed food waste as a major concern. From Wednesday’s release: Moreover, “roughly 40 percent of the food currently produced worldwide is wasted before it is consumed, creating large opportunities for […]

January 14, 2011 | Also posted in Anaerobic Digestion, Energy, Friday Buffet | Comments closed