This Dumpster Diver Makes $5,000 a Month Salvaging Designer Items Veronica Taylor travels the country sifting through garbage bins for bucks. She's part of a growing archaeological trend.

By Jonathan Small

Veronica Taylor has made a career out of the saying, One person's trash is another person's treasure.

The 32-year-old Pennsylvania native travels the country sifting through dumpsters to find designer items she can resell on the online auction app, WhatNot.

"It's fantastic. It's really like a real-life treasure hunt," Taylor told The Daily Mail. "You've no idea what you're going to find. And I can hang out with my best friend and make a living from finding things."

Taylor is part of a growing movement of so-called Dumpster Divers who go through dumpsters and garbage cans to find items that are still usable. Some dumpster dive to reduce waste, some to shame companies into practicing more sustainable product disposal, and others do it for money.

What started as a lucrative and exciting side hustle for Taylor became her full-time job. She told The Daily Mail that she makes up to $5,000 monthly, reselling items like Louis Vuitton Wallets and Michael Kors shoes.

But Taylor also donates unused food and hygiene products to charities and the homeless.

Dumpster Diving on TikTok

Last year, dumpster diving became a trend on TikTok, with many videos of people showing off their finds and sharing tips on how to do it safely and effectively. Others have used the trend to shine the spotlight on companies thought to be wasteful.

For example, Tiffany Sheree (aka Dumpster Diving Mama) posted a video of trashed purses and bags outside a Coach store thought to be destroyed by employees. The video went viral, causing Coach to say it would stop destroying and dumping unsold bags. "I love that I'm making a change," Sheree said on the Fuse-TV show Upcyle Nation.

Veronica Taylor does not have a TikTok channel, but a short documentary of her exploits appears on The Daily Mail's website.

"It really is like being on vacation all the time. The typical places that we do really well at we go every single night - 10pm to 3am usually," Taylor said. "Then other days, we go to rich people neighborhoods. It's fantastic."

Wavy Line
Jonathan Small

Entrepreneur Staff

Editor in Chief of Green Entrepreneur

Jonathan Small is editor-in-chief of Green Entrepreneur, a vertical from Entrepreneur Media focused on the intersection of sustainability and business. He is also an award-winning journalist, producer, and podcast host of the upcoming True Crime series, Dirty Money, and Write About Now podcasts. Jonathan is the founder of Strike Fire Productions, a premium podcast production company. He had held editing positions at Glamour, Stuff, Fitness, and Twist Magazines. His stories have appeared in The New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmo, Details, and Good Housekeeping. Previously, Jonathan served as VP of Content for the GSN (the Game Show Network), where he produced original digital video series.

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