The taste of waste: reclaiming and sharing rotten food among squatters in London

The “who” and “why” of dumpster diving for food in wealthy industrialised countries – an international scoping review

“…Fifteen of the reviewed articles interviewed or observed individuals who identified only as "dumpster divers" and were not aligned with a particular ideology or movement (e.g. freeganism) (Abrahamsson, 2019;Capponi, 2020;Carolsfeld and Erikson, 2013;Cornelissen, 2016;Corneus et al, 2023;Fernandez et al, 2011;Jahnke and Liebe, 2021;Lehtonen and Pyyhtinen, 2021;Plank, 2020;Pyyhtinen and Lehtonen, 2022;Rombach et al, 2016;Savio, 2017;Sharp et al, 2016;Vaughn, 2018;Vinegar et al, 2016).…”

“…One article interviewed eight youth residents who lived in permanent supportive housing and utilised dumpster diving along with other methods of food acquisition (e.g. combing cheap foods together in a meal) (Johnson et al, 2019) and another article focussed on "squatters", identified as single young adults aged between 20 and 40 years old (Capponi, 2020). Vinegar et al (2016) interviewed dumpster divers who were experiencing food insecurity, were on low incomes, had experienced homelessness and/or used food assistance.…”

“…Twothirds of the reviewed articles (n 5 18) reported dumpster diving was done in protest of the capitalist and materialist society, with eight articles specifically mentioning freeganism. Several articles (n 5 15) referred to dumpster diving as a "resistance" to society's consumerist culture, aligned with acts of political protest or activism against consumerism, capitalism and materialism (Abrahamsson, 2019;Barnard, 2011Barnard, , 2016Capponi, 2020;Carolsfeld and Erikson, 2013;Cooks, 2017;Edwards and Mercer, 2013;Fernandez et al, 2011;Jahnke and Liebe, 2021;Lojdov a, 2020;Nguyen et al, 2014;Pentina and Amos, 2011;Rombach and Bitsch, 2015;Savio, 2017;Schanes and Stagl, 2019). However, only eight articles specifically named this ideology as "freeganism" or had participants who identified themselves as freegans (Barnard, 2011(Barnard, , 2016Cooks, 2017;Edwards and Mercer, 2013;Lindeman, 2012;Lojdov a, 2020;Nguyen et al, 2014;Pentina and Amos, 2011).…”

“…3.4 Theme 2 -Benefits derived from dumpster diving 3.4.1 Free food, saves moneya lifestyle choice. Over half of the articles (n 5 16) mentioned dumpster diving as a "lifestyle choice", one that allowed the divers access to free food, saving them money, which in turn enabled them to work less hours (Abrahamsson, 2019;Barnard, 2011;Capponi, 2020;Carolsfeld and Erikson, 2013;Cornelissen, 2016;Corneus et al, 2023;Fernandez et al, 2011;Jahnke and Liebe, 2021;Lehtonen and Pyyhtinen, 2021;Pentina and Amos, 2011;Plank, 2020;Pyyhtinen and Lehtonen, 2022;Rombach and Bitsch, 2015;Schanes and Stagl, 2019;Vaughn, 2018;Vinegar et al, 2016). The participants in the study by Cornelissen (2016) said dumpster diving saved them money and gave them the freedom to work less hours.…”

“…3.4.2 Food sharing and the hero identity. Fifteen of the articles mentioned that participants actively shared the food they recovered from dumpsters (Capponi, 2020;Carolsfeld and Erikson, 2013;Edwards and Mercer, 2013;Fernandez et al, 2011;Gollnhofer, 2017;Gollnhofer et al, 2019;Jahnke and Liebe, 2021;Lehtonen and Pyyhtinen, 2021;Lindeman, 2012;Nguyen et al, 2014;Pyyhtinen and Lehtonen, 2022;Rombach and Bitsch, 2015;Rombach et al, 2016;Schanes and Stagl, 2019;Vinegar et al, 2016). However, only two of the articles identified that food sharing was done by people who were also food insecure (Carolsfeld and Erikson, 2013;Vinegar et al, 2016).…”