50 Times People Went Dumpster Diving And Came Home With Incredible Treasures (New Pics)

The amount of waste humankind produces is staggering. As per ‘The World Counts,’ people dump 2.12 billion tons of waste annually. “If all this waste was put on trucks they would go around the world 24 times.” What’s even more shocking is that the absolute majority (99%) of the things people buy end up getting thrown out within a mere 6 months.

Recently, the amount of electronic waste has been growing as technology evolves. Every year, around 50 million tons of e-waste are produced. Most of it is shipped to and dumped in economically poorer countries in Asia as well as Africa. Probably the biggest issue with e-waste is that it is toxic if not treated properly.

The heavy metals and toxic chemicals (arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium, flame retardants, vinyl chloride, dioxins, antimony, etc.) found within this waste can pollute the environment and poison the local population.

These metals and chemicals negatively impact your central nervous system, reproductive system, endocrine system, immune system, as well as your blood, skeleton, digestive system, and respiratory system.

According to ‘Business Waste,’ one person generates an average of 1.6 pounds (0.73 kilograms) of waste per day globally. It’s predicted that humankind will generate 3.4 billion tons of waste per year by 2050.

Trash from roughly 4 billion people goes to unregulated or illegal dumpsites, which hold over 40% of global waste. More than 14 billion pounds of garbage ends up being dumped in the world’s oceans each year.

Meanwhile, around a third of food that’s produced globally is wasted, amounting to 1.3 billion tons every year.

In an earlier interview, Bored Panda reached out to Greenpeace for a chat about eco-friendly decisions, the climate crisis, reducing pollution, and limiting the use of single-use plastics and packaging.

A representative of the organization explained to us that corporations bear the biggest responsibility for changing how plastic is produced and used worldwide.

Now, that’s not to say that individuals don’t have a role in eco-friendly decisions. They do. Your behavior and habits really do matter. That being said, you have to zoom out and look at the big picture so you can identify where the biggest impact, which helps the world, can be made.

"Though it’s important for individuals to take part in the reuse revolution movement and do their best to reduce their plastic footprints, the responsibility lies on the multinationals that produce single-use plastic packaging in the first place," the representative told Bored Panda earlier.

"One of the big challenges we are faced with is the corporation's addiction to single-use plastic and their relationship with the fossil fuel industry. As global demand for oil declines, the fossil fuel industry is doubling down on plastic, the new frontier for petrochemical production,” Greenpeace said.

“While big brands like Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and Pepsi claim they are addressing the plastic pollution crisis, they are working hand-in-hand with the fossil fuel industry and making even more plastic. As it stands, plastic production could double within the next 10-15 years, and triple by 2050. This is alarming, especially if we are to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. Plastic is an important part of moving away from fossil fuels, combating climate change, and protecting communities,” the Greenpeace representative said at the time.

The ‘Dumpster Diving’ subreddit is practically a digital fossil by this point in time. But in a good way. It was first created in early May 2009, which now feels like a million years ago. Since that time, the online community has firmly established itself and continues to boast a huge audience. Currently, 65k people visit the group every single week. What’s more, the sub gets a whopping 1.3k contributions every single week, too.

The moderators who keep the whole community running smoothly stress that you shouldn’t use the sub to sell your things, and you should steer clear of food-shaming. “This is not a health food sub. Unsolicited posts and comments critiquing the supposed unhealthiness of found food will be removed,” they point out, adding that any rudeness won’t be tolerated.

On the other hand, if you’re friendly and willing to share informative resources, you’ll be welcomed with open arms.

Which of these dumpster finds made you do a double take, Pandas? Can you believe someone would actually throw these things out?

Have you ever gone dumpster diving before? If so, what’s the most valuable thing you’ve ever discovered?

What are you doing to reduce the amount of trash your household produces? Tell us all about it in the comments at the bottom of this list! We can’t wait to read about your experiences.