Dr. Jeff Ferrell has an addiction: he can’t keep himself out of dumpsters. He loves your garbage.
The incredibly fit former criminal justice professor at Northern Arizona University lives on the edge, getting all he needs from urban dumpsters.
“It started out as a bit of an experiment,” said Ferrell. “Now it just makes so much sense. You can get everything you need from what the middle class throws away.
“I do everyday. Why would I stop?”
Ferrell speaks enthusiastically with wide sweeping motions about his passion, while explaining how dumpster diving gives you a perspective on society. He stopped at St. Thomas University last Friday to give the Annual Qualitative Lecture about dumpster diving and the global economy of waste.
“I need to take what I’ve learned while in those trash piles and share it with those who don’t ever have to be in them, even if they don’t want to know.”
Ferrell started dumpster diving in 2001 in Flagstaff, Arizona. By simply using an old bicycle with a basket and some bungee cords, Ferrell found that not only could he survive with this lifestyle, but he could flourish.
“I sent much of it on to friends, homeless shelters, food banks,” writes Ferrell in his book documenting his dumpster adventures, Empire of Scrounge.
“There is just so much excess out there.”
“But I never wanted to be the lark,” he said. “I just don’t find it difficult, and I can deal with the stigma of being a trash picker. People just have no clue.
“Plus, I love blowing up assumptions.”
Ferrell admits what he does isn’t easily accepted by those in the upper and middle classes. He says people assume it makes a person dirty or sick and some label them as homeless.
“I’m not a Buddhist,” said Ferrell. “But they do have belief where a person needs to get outside their ego, to basically kill their ego.
“Once you do that, the world becomes an amazing oyster.”
Ferrell has worked hard to experience what some people have to do to survive, but he doesn’t tip-toe around those who look down on his scrounging.
“I’m out to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable,” he said. “That’s my end game.
“Some people get really aggressive when they see a man in the garbage, especially in the white collar areas or suburbs. You have to ask yourself why that is.”
While Ferrell has had encounters with police about his dumpster diving, he also points out that he’s had some really positive experiences.
“Some people are far kinder. They know you will take that old bag of clothes that they’re tossing, so they’ll hold it for you. They’ll yell out that you missed a shoe.”
While the reactions of the upper and lower classes are mixed, Ferrell said he’s careful not to steal from those who need it more.
Some rely on what you throw in the garbage, he added.
“When you dumpster dive, you recognize patterns in when and what people throw out. Some people come to rely on that so you need to be respectful.
“The last thing you want to do is become competition for someone who needs it more.”
