Dumpster diving
In "developed" countries, people/businesses waste an insanely large amount of perfectly good things. Garbage picking can help save the planet and give you free stuff.
Overview
This page is about all forms of garbage picking. Bins can be small or big. "Dumpster diving" doesn't always require jumping in to the dumpster.
Impediments
Some bins can't be accessed, due to being locked or being compactors. Some businesses will maliciously make it hard for dumpster divers by intentionally damaging the products[ELABORATION needed], but this isn't extremely common.
Overall, there are so many things being thrown out that it's not too hard to find stuff - and a lot of it.
Legality
In normal sane countries, garbage is considered public property (because when you throw something out, you automatically declare that you don't want it to be your property anymore). However, there are still a few insane countries with laws against garbage picking (Germany is one example; I wonder if their anti-garbage-picking laws were left over from N*zi-era "anti-degenerate" laws; in any case, it's time for those laws to be repealed). Also, beware of trespassing on your way to the garbage bins - this may be a major problem in the USA where trespassing laws are excessively strict in some states[ELABORATION needed] and property owners might own guns.
Things that can be found
Food
Food waste is caused by both individuals and businesses. However, since there's a social stigma against eating someone's half-eaten leftovers, then the business waste may be more appealing overall.
- Bakeries throw out vast amounts of bread, muffins, cake, etc. You can find entire garbage bags full. Be sure to inspect your findings to make sure the food isn't mixed with actual garbage, dirt or rocks.
- Grocery stores waste almost every type of product, including unopened packaged goods.
- Fruits & vegetables are extremely common and very recoverable, as they can be washed easily.
- If you're fearless, consider that people leave plenty of half-eaten meals (still fresh, often) in garbage cans.
- Restaurants throw out a lot of ingredients (long before they truly go bad) but be sure to really inspect to make sure they aren't contaminated with dirt. Garbage bags may look gross on first glance, and it can take a lot of work to separate the good stuff from the bad stuff.
Read "Is it still ok to eat" for more info on making use of the food you find.
Non-food items
It's less common for stores to throw out non-food items such as electronics & clothes. These items don't "expire", but stores do sometimes throw stuff that hasn't sold or is damaged even slightly (even if it's an easy fix). Products returned by customers may also end up in the trash (depending on the store policy).
It's more common for individual people to throw out old stuff, especially after not having enough space after buying new stuff. See home waste.