Lars Eighner’s “Dumpster Diving” Thematic Selection

Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner is an informative essay writer from the perspective of the author when he was homeless in the late 1980’s. The essay contains two secondary themes, the one most obvious would fall under Conformity and Rebellion and the other is Communication. However, it is quite clear that the essay is educational as it not only gives insight into the people who live in this manner and practical advice on scavenging but it also teaches about excessive waste production, particularly by students. The educational value of the essay makes it suitable for reading in several fields of study as it offers a dynamic range of insight from a unique perspective.

Eighners writing offers a unique insight into the perspective of the people who live in this manner while offering sound advice for anyone who attempts to peruse scavenging bulk trash receptacles as a hobby or from necessity. Eighner states “I have learned that there is a predictable series of stages a person goes through in learning to savage.” (90) before explaining the way, a person adapts to scavenging. This gives the reader a good perspective on the type and thought process of a person who lives in this manner, from when they begin until they get to a point where it is normal for them. Eighner also states “I have learned much as a scavenger. I mean to put some of what I have learned down here,” (88) at the beginning of the essay which outlines the trend of what is good practice when scavenging goods found throughout the writing. This can be useful as we move towards an age where re-using and refurbishing goods is considered more acceptable as well as teaches a life skill for survival during a worst-case scenario in an urban environment.

One of the primary lessons that can be taken from Eighners essay is how wasteful society is, particularly students. Eighner writes “Students throw out many good things,

including food.” (89) which connects the students directly to the writing and speaks to them. This is invaluable in teaching them about managing and generating less waste. Eigner continues to state “Students throw out canned goods and staples at the end of semesters and when

they give up college at midterm…” (90) and by doing so he is pointing out the pattern for how this occurs and how it can be broken. Students can learn that instead of discarding goods they can either take them home when they leave campus or better yet donate them to someone in need. This teaches social responsibility directly to the reader and provides them with a way to plan ahead for later in the year when they may create excessive waste. This also provides the reader with the ability to take accountability and think twice before discarding items that if they have no use for perhaps someone else will. This fits with the current curriculum and how we are trying to correct state of the environment and reduce humanities impact on the planet.

Lars Eighners essay titled “Dumpster Diving” was written in the late 1980’s from the perspective of the author when he was homeless. Although Eighners work contains two secondary themes of Conformity and Rebellion as well as Communication it is clear that the essay is educational. The work gives insight into the lives of people who live in this manner and practical advice on scavenging while teaching about excessive waste production by society, especially from students. Because the essay speaks directly to students it is a valuable resource for multiple subjects and can be instrumental in conveying the messages of understanding for those less fortunate and reducing environmental impact by generating less waste.

Works Cited

Eighner, Lars (1992) "On Dumpster Diving," New England Journal of Public Policy: Vol. 8: Issue 1, Article 7., Available at: https://scholarworks.umb.edu/nejpp/vol8/iss1/7

Image Credit

Kaabi, Amina. “Dumpster Diving Man, Nuremberg, Germany · Free Stock Photo.” Pexels, 13 Mar. 2022, www.pexels.com/photo/dumpster-diving-man-nuremberg-germany-11450456.