Milton Saier, professor of biology at the University of California at San Diego and Freegan advocate, has been collecting discarded food from dumpsters for 30 years.
This morning I had an apple strudel for breakfast, with fresh orange slices and a glass of milk. It wouldn’t be remarkable except that it came completely out of the dumpster behind a local grocery store. I’ve been a part-time freegan for the past few months now, ever since I reacquainted myself with Milton Saier, freegan veteran and one of my favorite subjects.
You wouldn’t believe what you can find in the trash. The highlights of the latest outing include an unopened tube of toothpaste, plenty of oranges, a lot of Slim-Rite (a Slim-Fast imitation), a big sack of rice (with just a small hole in it), and some valentines with candy. My favorite find of the night was a disposable camera, cracked in the case but perfectly functional. I’ve decided it will be the Freegan camera and I’m going to use it to document the next several outings.
All in all we salvaged about 75 pounds of food, some of which we’ll donate, but most we’ll simply enjoy.
Students of the University of California, San Diego, organize food products after visiting the dumpsters of local grocery stores in San Diego, California.
wow, will i didn’t know you were a part-time freegan. i totally commend you on that. i’ve definitely been trying to be less wasteful this year and i remember your photos of milton saier which was part of my inspiration!
Thanks Holly. I think Saier has inspired quite a few people. The best part is that he prefers to lead by example.
how sanitary is this?
It’s actually not that bad. Professor Saier gets dairy and eggs without problem. I find shopping way more annoying. Ironically the heavy packaging that contributes a lot of waste to food distribution also makes for easy pickings in the dumpster!