On social media, the scene plays out again and again: People plunging into dumpsters and finding discarded treasures like luxury purses, video games and brand new makeup kits.
In recent years, the once-shamed practice of dumpster diving has surged in popularity, with videos collectively racking up billions of views on TikTok and raising scrutiny on the waste of corporations. One viral clip by Ella Rose, who goes by @glamourddive, shows her pulling bags of perfumes and fake eyelashes from a dumpster behind an Ulta.
“There’s not much in here that’s not destroyed,” she says in the video, which has nearly 46 million views on TikTok alone.
But the increased interest has also raised a central question: Is it legal to dumpster dive?
While a decades-old Supreme Court decision indirectly permits dumpster diving on public property, the practice could lead to fines and criminal charges. That’s because many cities and local governments have ordinances in place banning or limiting the practice.
Rules vary by city and county, but generally it is illegal to sift through dumpsters on private property, which is where most large dumpsters are located, especially those being filled up by prominent retailers.
“Practically speaking, dumpster diving is almost always illegal,” said Jeff Ferrell, a professor emeritus at Texas Christian University who has written two books on scavenging.
Rules on dumpster diving vary widely
In 1988, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police can legally search discarded garbage without a search warrant. While the case centered on law enforcement, it was a major win for dumpster divers because it made garbage in a public space fair game.
But over the decades, local rules and ordinances have begun to clamp down on the practice. Ferrell noted that many locales have argued that once trash is in a dumpster, it belongs to the city’s waste management system.
Furniture and trash piled around a dumpster in Columbus, Ohio.
In Wood River, Illinois, for example, an ordinance introduced in 2025 completely bans dumpster diving, with fines ranging from $100 to $750. Similar restrictions are in place in Sacramento, California, and Cleveland, Ohio.
In Montgomery, Alabama, an ordinance restricting dumpster diving allows it only between sunrise and sunset.
Other possible penalties include misdemeanor charges such as trespassing, littering or property damage.
Is dumpster diving considered trespassing?
If a dumpster is behind a fence or is fitted with a sign warning against dumpster diving, it’s wise to stay away, longtime divers say.
In recent years it’s also become more common for retailers and grocery stores to lock up their dumpsters, blocking them from the public. Divers can run into trouble when they climb over a lock or decide to break into a trash bin.
Ferrell, been searching through trash bins for over 50 years, noted that it’s not often clear whether a dumpster is on private property. Therefore, he said, there’s always risk involved in scavenging, though he’s never faced any serious consequences for it apart from an occasional fine.
“I’ve had police say, ‘We don’t really care but we had to respond to the call,'” Ferrell said.
Robin Greenfield has sifted through about 3,000 dumpsters across 25 states over the last decade. The environmental activist says he avoids trash bins that are locked and clearly marked with trespassing warnings.
“I’ve never had a ticket or a written warning,” Greenfield, 39, told USA TODAY.
Why are people dumpster diving?
In recent years, dumpster diving has gained popularity, thanks to social media and an activist movement condemning the waste of corporate retailers and grocery stores.
Greenfield first became involved in food activism when, during a coast-to-coast bike ride in 2013, he discovered large amounts of edible food sitting in grocery store dumpsters.
“I couldn’t believe how much perfectly good food was being thrown away,” he said.
The following year, he biked from the Mississippi River to New York City eating food he found exclusively in dumpsters in effort to raise awareness about food waste. He has since hosted food drives giving away large amounts of nonperishable goods like canned beans, soup and vegetables, as well as granola bars and cereal he pulled from trash bins.
Ferrell, who no longer teaches sociology full time, spends much of his days dumpster diving. A few times a month, he brings carloads of clothes to homeless shelters, tools to community gardens and pencils and pens to a nonprofit that supports local teachers.
It’s his mission, he says, to keep goods “out of the waste stream and get them back into use.”
“Every 100 pounds I pull out of the dumpster doesn’t go to the landfill and every sweater I give to someone in need means one less sweater they’ve got to buy,” he said. “It’s good for everybody.”
The recent virality of dumpster diving has also sparked backlash against retailers, leading some to make changes.
After a clip went viral of a scavenger finding Coach bags that were allegedly slashed by employees, the luxury brand vowed to stop “destroying in-house returns of damaged and unsalable goods” and instead find ways to reuse them.
Contributing: Jennifer Lindahl, Montgomery Advertiser; Margie Cullen, USA TODAY NETWORK – New England; Amani Bayo, Columbus Dispatch
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dumpster diving is a viral trend. But is it legal?
