Diving Into The Dirty Details: Dumpster Diving In North Dakota

The North Dakota Department of Health estimates that each citizen generates 4.3 pounds of garbage every day, resulting in 500,000 tons of garbage every year.

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While a lot of what hits the garbage can is just that, garbage, there is a significant amount that is tossed for a myriad of other reasons that is still perfectly good.

Some people see that as a golden opportunity to literally turn one man's trash into another man's treasure and give discarded items a second life.

What are the reasons some people dumpster dive?

Personal use: Dumpster divers may pull out items for personal use, such as clothing, furniture, or food.
Sell items: Dumpster divers may sell items on sites like Facebook Marketplace or eBay.
Income: Dumpster divers may dumpster dive to earn an extra source of income.
Poverty: Some people dumpster dive due to poverty.
Ideological reasons: Some people dumpster dive for ideological reasons.
Grief: Some people dumpster dive to find meaning in piles of rubble.
Saving money: Some people dumpster dive to save money.
Recycled items: Some people dumpster dive to collect recyclable items that they can turn in for money.

In North America, dumpster diving is also known as "urban foraging," "skipping," "bin raiding," "skipitarianism," "skip dipping," "containern," or "doing the duck.".

Is it legal to dumpster dive in North Dakota?

Digging among trash cans is not illegal in North Dakota. Actually, this state does not forbid dumpster diving in any form. Take great care to abide by any municipal legislation or statutes in existence as well as the trespassing rules in your state.

Every business and house in North Dakota is considered private property; so, trash diving without authorization might result in trespassing fines.

Like garbage pickup restrictions, most North Dakota communities allow diving into dumpsters on public land as not unlawful.

The United States Supreme Court decided in the historic case of California v. Greenwood that people and companies all around have basically given up ownership rights to any and all waste thrown in public dumpsters.

Should you try to look for trash in North Dakota from within a private residence, you run the risk of being charged with theft or trespassing. If you try dumpster diving on private land in spite of a clearly obvious "No Trespassing" sign, North Dakota businesses have the power to permanently prohibit you from their property.

You might get trespassing charges. Among the other possible fines against you are disorderly behavior, illegal dumping, and littering.

Thus, if you must visit private land, avoid trash diving near any fences or gates. Especially if you lack the required permissions, these are not the greatest North Dakota trash diving locations.

Does North Dakota have a law against dumpster diving at night?

In North Dakota, it is quite reasonable to toss garbage in a dumpster past nightfall. Whether you like to dive dumpsters during the day or at night, the limitations stay same. Conversely, it seems like a horrible idea to search homes for trash late at night. Someone from the police could be dispatched to your location.

Since it's more discreet, most dumpster divers decide to dive at night. For dumpster diving in North Dakota.