The Legality of “The Art of Dumpster Diving”

After the previous publication of “The Art of Dumpster Diving”, many legality concerns and questions were raised. I will attempt to present a summary of the results from research I have conducted, on previously mentioned legality questions, within the United States.

First we’ll discuss the legality within the federal judicial system. In 1998 there was a Supreme Court case involving the privacy of garbage. The Supreme Court ruled in this case, California v. Billy Greenwood that discarded materials lay within the public domain, and any privacy of such discarded materials is non-existent. Specifically they stated that it is “common knowledge” that garbage at the side of the street is “readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public”. Thus ruling that trash is public domain, and dumpster diving is legal according to the federal judicial system.

Another federal case received by the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals was USA v. Joseph R. Redmon. In this case the Court’s conclusion was that our society has no expectations of privacy for trash left for collection in an area accessible to the public.

I could not find any standing state laws that made dumpster diving illegal. States tend to generally stick to the higher court decisions such as those presented before. So according to state law dumpster diving is legal as well.

I did come across 2 local ordinances that made dumpster diving illegal. One is in Modesto, California, and one is in Missouri Valley, Iowa. So make sure not to dumpster dive there. I am sure there may be more, so be sure to check local ordinances before dumpster diving.

Another possibility that could lead to dumpster diving being illegal are private property laws. If a dumpster specifically has any type of keep out, private property signs, or the dumpster is surrounded by a fence dumpster diving there would be illegal. According to most trespassing and private property laws, charges can only be pressed by the property owner, through an Officer of the law. In other words a police officer cannot fine or arrest someone for dumpster diving. They can however inform the property owner, and if the property owner wants to press charges the individual can then be arrested for trespassing. Any other charges (such as theft) if properly fought could be, and more than likely would be dropped.

I can say the following with utmost certainty because my Father is an officer. Most police officers really don’t know the laws they are sworn to enforce. I don’t blame them at all because that would be practically impossible, considering the millions of volumes of laws that exist. They usually write tickets, and fine people based upon their best assumptions of the laws. That’s where courts and judges come in, to sort through, and decide if a fine was properly issued and if it was not properly issued, it is dropped.

So as a summary according to the federal government and the state government the trash is public domain. Local ordinances do exist however making it illegal in certain locations. As far as private property laws go if a property owner wanted to go into all the hassle of pressing charges they technically can, about as much as someone can press charges for you walking on their grass. Obviously if someone tells you to leave, then leave, don’t argue, and their probably won’t be a problem.

As with anything involved with law, I shall also include a disclaimer. The information provided is by all means not conclusive, and is provided for your reading entertainment only. I have absolutely no legal background whatsoever, and am not at liberty to give legal advice. Do not try dumpster diving at home, it could be dangerous to your health, may have caused cancer in laboratory rats and may even cause zoonotic diseases.