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I had a crazy friend who ate for years out of Trader Joe's garbage cans. One day a cops were called. After, that he still went back, but a lock was put on the

I had a crazy friend who ate for years out of Trader Joe's garbage cans. One day a cops were called. After, that he still went back, but a lock was put on the garbage.

graue 13y ago
There's nothing crazy about that. I've known lots of people who dumpster-dive. A college roommate of mine lived on nothing but free and dumpster-dived food for several months when he was broke. Even when he had money he liked to do it and would bring back vegetables to share. One time we feasted for weeks on a huge grocery bag full of (normally expensive) avocados, eating around the bad spots... at least ¾ of it was good. If you think it's crazy, I'm gonna guess your broke college-kid days (if you had them) are long behind you. :)
- rdtsc 13y ago
  But I guess dumpster is still in private property and owners can still kick anyone out of the dumpster area for trespassing. Cops could be called for that instead of say for "theft"
smsm42 13y ago
I can understand why they put the lock though. If he eats something and goes ill and then hires a lawyer, the lawyer would be in the position to claim millions in damages from TJ because they did not ensure hazardous waste products weren't "laying around on the street instead of being properly stored". Given that lawsuits with much less merit succeeded, who needs those problems?
- anigbrowl 13y ago
  I think it was more to discourage people from digging through and maybe leaving a mess (not necessarily the person in the story). It's true that there have been cases where someone is successfully sued in this manner; the source of the danger (which could be food or a uncovered hole in the ground that someone falls into) is known as an 'attractive nuisance', ie something dangerous that is also irresistible. However, that's usually only successful in cases where children or animals are drawn towards the attractive nuisance because they lack better judgment. It would be hard for an adult to persuade a jury that he couldn't anticipate the risks of eating food from a garbage can. IANAL, didn't do a review of AN cases, TINLA.
  - drhodes 13y ago
    my acronym research reveals: AN = Absolutely No, TINLA = This Is Not Legal Advice.
    - cdcarter 13y ago
      AN is "attractive nuisance"
Erwin 13y ago
Dumpster diving for food has apparently become a whole ideology now, Freeganism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism In their own words: "[Freegans] embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]

I had a crazy friend who ate for years out of Trader Joe's garbage cans. One day a cops were called. After, that he still went back, but a lock was put on the garbage.

graue 13y ago

There's nothing crazy about that. I've known lots of people who dumpster-dive. A college roommate of mine lived on nothing but free and dumpster-dived food for several months when he was broke. Even when he had money he liked to do it and would bring back vegetables to share. One time we feasted for weeks on a huge grocery bag full of (normally expensive) avocados, eating around the bad spots... at least ¾ of it was good. If you think it's crazy, I'm gonna guess your broke college-kid days (if you had them) are long behind you. :)

rdtsc 13y ago
But I guess dumpster is still in private property and owners can still kick anyone out of the dumpster area for trespassing. Cops could be called for that instead of say for "theft"

smsm42 13y ago

I can understand why they put the lock though. If he eats something and goes ill and then hires a lawyer, the lawyer would be in the position to claim millions in damages from TJ because they did not ensure hazardous waste products weren't "laying around on the street instead of being properly stored". Given that lawsuits with much less merit succeeded, who needs those problems?

anigbrowl 13y ago
I think it was more to discourage people from digging through and maybe leaving a mess (not necessarily the person in the story). It's true that there have been cases where someone is successfully sued in this manner; the source of the danger (which could be food or a uncovered hole in the ground that someone falls into) is known as an 'attractive nuisance', ie something dangerous that is also irresistible. However, that's usually only successful in cases where children or animals are drawn towards the attractive nuisance because they lack better judgment. It would be hard for an adult to persuade a jury that he couldn't anticipate the risks of eating food from a garbage can. IANAL, didn't do a review of AN cases, TINLA.
- drhodes 13y ago
  my acronym research reveals: AN = Absolutely No, TINLA = This Is Not Legal Advice.
  - cdcarter 13y ago
    AN is "attractive nuisance"

Erwin 13y ago

Dumpster diving for food has apparently become a whole ideology now, Freeganism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeganism In their own words: "[Freegans] embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed."

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]