Scavenging

We had a slow night at the Berkeley Free Clinic on Friday night -- a few clients cancelled, so only one male STD screen during the first shift and a routine strep test for the second shift. After the STD screen, the medics let us off the hook early, at around 8:30 pm. My coworker Miriam asked if I wanted to go scavenging with her.

"Definitely," I said.

We headed into the night with our hopes high. We figured we would find a lot of junk on the curb -- some of it possibly useful -- since many UC students had just moved out.

We biked around for a while, eagerly circling South Berkeley for any clothing, furniture, or knick knacks left out on the street.

At first, we were both a little leery of diving into the dumpsters. Then, we ran into a respectable older couple -- a man and woman in their 40s-50s -- eagerly sorting through a huge dumpster. The man, sporting an elegant white beard, was on top of a pile of junk, comfortably sorting through the garbage, just as if he was rummaging in the closet at home looking for his slippers.

That gave us all the confidence we needed. Soon, we were on top of the heap, looking for anything of use.

After a half hour, we had been through three dumpsters. Miriam found a cute crochet sweater, a small juicer, a fancy cookie jar, and a microwave she was possibly coming back for (with a car). I found a polyester Adidas jacket, two brand new MCAT study books, and a handful of highlighters. Everything was in mint condition. Score.

Miriam told me that the mecca of dumpsters in Emeryville. Apparently, an artisanal bakery dumps their day-old bread in a clean, bread-only dumpster. And, a hiking and backpacking store tosses unsold gear in their dumpster. I can't wait to check it out.

Why scavenge? Find out for yourself, or read Anneli Rufus' Scavenger Manifesto.