I gotoposh
partsof
town,with
a nicecarin
thedrive
Somefinds
arerealgems!Mylovely
familyQ
Sotelluswhatyourfavouritefinds
havebeensofar?
A
I founda giftcard– whenI wenttotheshop,
I foundit hadtheequivalentofover£300onit,so
I boughta blender.Once,Antwansaidhewanteda
Nespressomachine...andoutofsheerluck,I found
one.It justneededa newpartandwasasgoodasnew!Q
Whatdoyourfriendssayaboutyour
dumpsterdiving?
A
Theycouldn’tbelieveit andaskedwhatwas
wrongwithme!I knowit’sdifficultforpeopleto
understand,butit’sprecious‘me’time.Beingoutin
theelements,justmeandtherubbish,is therapeutic.Q
Haveyouhadanyconfrontations
withhomeowners?
A
manoncesatonhisporchandwatchedme
riflethroughhisneighbour’sbins.HetoldmeI
shouldn’tbethere– butI smiledback,saidhello.
I’vealsobeenmistakenfora homelessperson!
ButaslongasI’mfriendly,I don'tgettrouble.
NowI havebusinesscards,too,and
peoplearecuriousmorethananything.NowAngelanswersthequestions
youreallywanttoask!
ASK
i
stinking,rottingfood.
I screamedasI meta dead
rat ortwo– evena deadduck!
Antwanwasworried.
‘Becarefulbringinggerms
home,’hesaid.
SoI orderedsomeprotective
gearonline.
Needle-proof
gloves,a mask,
reflectorvest,
protectivecoat,
evena hazardous
materialssuit!
‘Now,I’m
ready,’I grinned.
I quicklylearnt
howto spot
an opportunity,
whichbinsto
avoid.I wentto theposher
partsof town,witha nicecarin
the drive,a well-keptgarden.
A dirtymattresslyinginthe
rubbishwasa signto stayaway!
I’dsoonsalvageda laptop,Tiffanybracelet,Pandora
necklace,Gucciclothes,
ToryBurchshoes.
Whatwedidn’tkeep,
AntwanandI flogged
onEbay.
Soexciting!
Thekidswerechuffed
whenI foundanXbox.
Hooked,I’dgetdiving
straightaftertheschool
run.Spent8amuntil2.30pm
elbowdeepin rubbish.
I startedfilmingmydives,
setupa YouTubechannel
calledMomtheEbayer.
Beforelong,I’drackedup
over100,000followers.
AndI’dsoondecoratedour
bedroomwitha lamp,picture
frame,footboard,wicker
chest...allthingsI’dfound.
Evenonholidayin California
in October2017,I couldn’tstop.
‘WonderwhatI’llfindhere,’I
said,asAntwanrolledhiseyes.
Somefolkthinkit’sgross.But
I sanitiseeverythingI find.
I’veevenstartedgiving
thingsaway.Volunteeringata
homelessshelter,donating
clothes,shoes,andtoiletries.
I’vebeendoingit almost
sevenyearsnow.
Lastyear,myrummaging
nettedmeover£7,000.
Butthisyear,I’vepassed
thattargetalready!
Professionaldumpster
divingchangedmylife,plus
madememoregenerousand
caringtowardsthoseinneed.
Peoplemight
judge,butI love
whatI do!lOverhere?
Accordingtothe
lawinEnglandand
Wales,‘a person
commitstheftif
hedishonestly
appropriates
propertybelonging
toanotherwiththe
intentionofpermanently
deprivingtheotherofit’.
Therefore,if it canbeproven
propertyhasa rightfulowner,
it’sillegaltotakeit – evenif it
hasbeenthrownaway!...