They have jobs and come from good homes, yet they’ve chosen to eat from the contents of other people’s dustbins. Shocked at the extent of consumer waste, more and more middle-class New Yorkers are joining an unusual organisation called ‘Freegans’.

The word freegan is compounded from “free” and “vegan”. Started in the mid 1990s out of antiglobalisation and environmentalist movements, freeganism is a philosophy and a way of life.

In the evenings, devotees of freeganism engage in what’s called ‘dumpster diving’.  They sift through garbage cans and bin bags looking for edible leftovers and discarded items such as clothes or household goods.
 
“They are dismayed by the social and ecological costs of an economic model where only profit is valued, at the expense of the environment, and human and animal rights,” according to freegans.info website.

However, many freegans admit that it’s not the usual household garbage they sift through, but the refuse of fast-food businesses and supermarket chains.

Athough many freegans claim they’ve never been made ill by trashcan food, they say it’s still better not to touch meat.

And with food prices soaring, the numbers involved in big city trash tours is increasing.