Freegans – Freeing the world or Freeloaders.
What is the freegan movement about?
Freegans and their movement freeganism is done by using the methods of dumpster diving, curb shopping, freecyling and freemarkets using these methods freegans have also been labelled scavengers. While being criticized for removing resources from those that need it the most, freeganism is a way of protesting the economic system in the world for example consumerism and how it effects people.
According to a New York Times journalist the word freegan is a joining of the words “free” and “vegan” (Kurutz, 2007) . Freegans, for the most part, are people who find different ways of living to protest against the worldwide economy and also to limit their consumption of resources, they also adopt shared goal against what they call “A society based on materialism” as well as trying to encourage people to live life with goodness and decency (Freegan.info, 2008) . While the word vegan is part of the term “Freegan” freegans are not bound to the vegan diet meaning anything they do recover they can eat (Thomas, 2010) .
Recovering goods that are thrown away into rubbish bins and dumpsters has led to freegans often being called “Dumpster Divers” (Freegan.info, 2008) . There are also other common practices employed by freegans, for example co-operative living, which is where people live together in the same residence and share the expenses and duties. Other examples are “freecycling”, which is when one individual passes an unneeded item onto somebody who has use for it (Freecycle.net, 2011) , “curb shopping” which can refer to anyone who has picked up an item from the roadside and has put it to use (Curb Shopping, 2008) . Curb shopping is very common at the end of University and college trimesters, when many students find it cheaper or more efficient to leave things behind rather than take them home with them. Freegans have also created markets called “Freemarkets”, when people to swap or trade their items that no longer have use to them, but may have uses for others (Freegan.info, 2008) . This practice also happens at “freestores” and on “Freecycle” (Freecycle.net, 2011) .
Freegans claim that there is a difference to what they do, opposed to being a scavenger. However, a scavenger as defined by Google dictionary, is somebody who “who searches for and collects discarded items” (Google Dictionary, 2011) . While freegans employ this technique and fill this definition they state that due to the “throwaway culture” (Freegan.info, 2008) we live in, they are merely reducing the garbage pollution on the world. The New York Times tells us that a scavenger is merely “stitching a life from the scraps of others” which includes rummaging through the landfills for scraps of food to survive this is common in third world countries (Kohut, 2010).
Freegans are often criticised for removing resources such as food, clothes and shelter that could be used to by poor or homeless people. There have also been claims that some freegans advocate shoplifting and employee theft, a claim they defend by saying it is okay to take their items because they are taking your time and energy (Freegan.info, 2008) . They also combat this claim by saying that it is more a “direct attack on the store selling the goods, not the produce … and to always let your conscience be your guide” (Freegan.info, 2008) . Vegans, part of the freegan name, criticise freegans for it being only a label or pretension not an actual diet (Word IQ, 2010) .
While some consider dumpsters to be dirty, freegans use them to find what can be a pile of endless resources. Dumpster diving can provide meals, entertainment and a way of helping to reduce waste, thus making people feel better about themselves and the community they are residing in (Corbett, 2010) . As Dumpster diving can be a messy and smelly procedure there are certain etiquettes put in place to make the process more hygiene friendly. For example, it is advised that people partaking in dumpster diving wear gloves and old clothing, clean up after they have finished, do not cross fences or “no trespassing” signs to reach dumpsters, leave confidential records and you only take what you can or will use so there is more for others (Rush, 2006) . Curb shopping also has an etiquette, check the local laws to see if it is legal, wear gloves and old clothing and only take what you can use and if you are unsure as to whether something is trash or not, just knock on the door and ask politely (Huffstetler, 2008) .
Although the law about dumpster diving is vague it can be in some countries against the law. Theft, as defined by the United Kingdom’s 1968 theft act, is dishonestly obtaining property that belongs to another person (Parliament of the United Kingdom, 1968) . Freegans however, state that because the items are abandoned by their owner and no longer hold value to them, it is no longer theft (Thomas, 2010) . Abandonment is described in one article, as one person leaving possession of an item and having no intention of putting another item in its place (Pollock & Wright, 1888) . Because reclaiming items through dumpster diving or curb shopping does not include money changing hands and a legal transaction does not take place questions over the ownership can arise (Thomas, 2010) . However, when a dumpster is near to a “no trespassing” sign or fence you can be arrested (Freegan.info, 2008) .
The most common area for “dumpster diving” is in the bins of retail stores, supermarkets and restaurants. In the United Kingdom it is estimated, that in 2005, 17 million tonnes of food was dumped by the larger supermarket chains, this is because it is cheaper and easier to dispose of it rather than donate it (Buzby, 2009) . Food is often wasted when it is, out of shape, bruised, dented, out of date, past its sell by date or even when food is merely surplus (Martin, 2008) . There have been cases of restaurants and supermarkets pouring bleach into the waste to stop it being obtained and used without purchase (Shantz, 2005) . It is this wasted food that freegans say could help feed the poor and hungry (Freegan.info, 2008) . According to the World Hunger Education Service as of 2010 there are 925 million hungry people around the world with 578 million in the Asia – Pacific region alone (2010). It is estimated that each year, 5.4 million tonnes of food, that is still edible, is thrown away in British households (Skidelsky, 2009) . Freegans challenge the fact that the basics of life food, clothing and shelter are being wasted when it should be a basic human right for everyone (Freegan.info, 2008) . Since 1974, the food waste produced in America alone has increased by 50 percent and that approximately 40 percent of all food produced is wasted (Humphries, 2010) .
According to one freegan article we live in a world where people are only out to create profit and that people are influenced by advertising telling them to replace goods that might be working fine with new items (Freegan.info, 2008) . This is called “consumerism”, freegans say that almost every product we buy has a hidden cost abuse of all living things and the planet itself, and that foraging and “dumpster diving” avoids being wasteful consumers. The freegan movement is also to “politically challenge the injustice of allowing vital resources to be wasted” (Freegan.info, 2008) . Freegans also help reduce the waste in the many landfills and incinerators by finding new life for used goods. Shantz tells us that consumerism encourages the poor and working people’s earnings to be distributed upward to corporations and that “dumpster divers” are looking to stem the upward flow of this income (Shantz, 2005) .
There are few materials opposing the freegans and their movement, and those that are available did not hold the required substance to be used in this text. However, whenever people think of going through bins for food they usually think of the health risks that come with it as dumpsters are not the most user friendly environment. Many would normally find it difficult to understand why people would eat food that came from them. However, through this essay it has been shown that there is much more to being a freegan than just eating out of bins. For example, squatting is considered by most to be a disrespectful way of living but it is advocated and even encouraged by the freegan movement. While many squatters ruin the residence they live in freegans will try revamping the residence or even attempt to turn it into a community centre (Freegan.info, 2008) . Freegans also argue that because things like food, shelter and clothing are basic human necessities we should not have to pay for them.
The freegan movement is one that also one day hopes to make itself redundant. As it’s over all goal is to reduce the waste the world produces, by doing this they remove their own way of life, having no waste thrown away means they can no longer reclaim it and put it to new use. It remains to be seen if this will happen and what will happen to the freegan movement if and when it does, will the future allow freegans to reach their goal they merge back into a consumerism way of life? Would there be any options left open to them? Or would everything have become free? All this remains to be seen as it is difficult to stipulate what the future holds for freegans.
The freegan movement is one that is that is in protest of the world’s economic system and the waste the world produces. It is through practices like dumpster diving and curb shopping that they reclaim items they say are fine. If they do not use them these items get distributed to others on web pages such as freecylce or at freemarkets. While questions may arise about the legality of these practices freegans have found ways around them and have even put etiquettes in place to make it easier. It is the author’s belief that over the coming years, with the steady increase in the price of food, shelter and clothing freegans will gain more support and grow eventually reaching their goal, a world where people are not driven by profit and consumerism.
Word Count - 1702
Reference List
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