So I live in an apartment and have almost no furniture–I just moved back to the US and had only the stuff I could fit in 2 suitcases and take on a plane. Right now, outside my apartment, there is a perfectly nice looking wicker armchair sitting near the dumpsters. The cushions are pretty funky looking, but the armchair itself seems to be in perfect condition. I could probably get some cushions at IKEA or something, no problem. I am badly in need of more seating in my living room. If it was you, would you take the chair?
Its not IN the dumpster so what would you be diving for?
Toss the cushions, spray it with lysol and be happy with it.
yes
reuse of usable stuff is a good thing.
also go to thrift/charity stores, you can get starter furniture cheap and donate it back when you upgrade.
Oh, yeah. Furniture next to the dumpster is fine (with a sniff caveat.) Actual dumpster diving is nasty.
Go for it, there is not a single furniture or appliance in the house that we paid for, save for the microwave and the computer.
Yeah, not a problem. If it were me wanting to get rid of some furniture, I would rather see someone else get use from it than have it go into a landfill.
I have no problem with it at all. My BIL got his mattress from the trash behind one of those mattress stores where people trade their old ones in. I had no idea they just threw them away!
At most of the apartment complexes I’ve been to, people will actually leave stuff out of the dumpster that people might want to take, including furniture (and if there’s a lot of recyclables scavengers, cans and stuff).
Go for it.
I’d have no problem with that. If it were in the dumpster It’d have to be something very cleanable, not something porous like wicker. Something like cushions, even if they weren’t “funky looking” or in a dumpster, I’d avoid.
I’ve never dumpster dived, but I’ve gotten some nice stuff for free on Craigslist. Furniture, appliances, electronics.
Absolutely.
For the past 20+ years living on my own, the convention in at least the Midwest if that if it’s sitting next to a dumpster the prior owner is making it available to any who want it, or actively hoping someone will take it.
Removing things actually IN the dumpster is a bit more questionable, however, if you’re poor/in great need decent folks will look the other way. Just make sure anything you don’t want remains in/is replaced in the dumpster before you leave.
I think it’s wonderful. I’m one of those people who will leave usable but no longer desired items next to the dumpster, and I’m tickled pink when I check back the next day and it’s found a new home. (Just in case it goes unclaimed, I don’t want it cluttering up the alley, so I check to put it in the dumpster properly - theoretically, I mean, because it’s never happened.)
I’ve also found some neat stuff, mostly in the bookshelf category. Got a great toy kitchen for my daughter’s room once, sprayed it to death with a bleach solution and it honestly looks good as new. It’s over $100 at Walmart!
Less stuff in the landfill + free useful to someone else + less stuff cluttering up my home = WIN!
I would recommend, if you do find a soft fiber item like pillows or cushions worth keeping, that you keep it wrapped in a plastic bag for a week or two before using it, just in case any 6 or 8 legged critters are hiding in it.
BTW, do you know about freecycle.org? It’s like city wide dumpster diving from the comfort of your keyboard. People post usable things they no longer want and are willing to give away for free. Some of it’s really cheap stuff, like a half bottle of shampoo that didn’t work out for someone else or two dozen empty baby food jars (which make great safe tea light holders!), and some of it’s really nice stuff people are just tired of or getting rid of when combining households. I got a very nice faux iron canopy bed once! For nothing! Woo-hoo! 
I was once getting boxes out of dumpsters for a move when I spied behind the Pier One a box with a lid - I discovered that I could not lift the box. Seeing that it was an entertainment center, I drove home and got my brother for some muscle and we hefted that thing right out of the dumpster. It had a chip in the veneer in a back corner and was a $200.00 piece of furniture. Score!!!
Yeah, I always put stuff I don’t want anymore out by the curb, because somebody will want it. I never let a new appliance deliverer haul the old one away - somebody will take it from the curb, thanks. Circle of life.
there are a number of reuse groups, depends on your country.
Freecycle, Freegle, FreeSharing Network, Full Circles, ReUseIt Network, Sharing is Giving
find local groups worldwide at http://www.reuseitnetwork.org/index.htm
Wait, exactly WHERE do you live? 
Hells YEAH I would snag it, as in right NOW, before someone else does!
I got my couch from the side of the road (perfectly good, leftovers from a yard sale someone dumped…I took it home, washed the cushion covers and steam cleaned it)
Got both MY wicker chairs from Salvation Army (and would have gotten them from a dumpster if I’d seen them there) and got the matching outdoor cushions for a few bucks at another thrift store.
Years back, I got a wicker couch someone had set out by the curb…that thing had several good years as porch seating left in it…nice new outdoor cushion (again, paid like $3 at a thrift store for one) and SCORE!
So how do I feel about dumpster diving? Well, I’ve never actually dived into one, but I’ve sure taken stuff OUT and picked stuff up from next to one. I feel I’, 1. getting something I want/need for free 2. recycling and sparing our landfills.
What’s not to love? 
No it’s not worth it. Anything wood or woodlike can harbour bed bugs. This is exactly how they spread and spread fast. And wicker is a PRIME location for them. It provides lots and lots of nooks to hide in
In fact you’re probably less likely to find bed bugs in a bed than in wood or upholstered furniture.
Bed bugs can’t climb metal very well, so that should be safe. But the reason it is out by the dumpster could be bed bugs.
There’s no way to cheaply disinfect it. Sprays can kills the bugs but only about 90% of the eggs.
It will cost you hundreds or more to rid your flat of bed bugs.
The only real way to get them would be take a garbage bag and put the stuff you want in it. Then tie the bag up tight. Make sure no holes are in it. It must be a heavy duty garbage bag. Then keep it sealed for 18 months. That’s the longest bed bugs can live without food.
Really we just got a blip on yesterday’s news how bed bugs in Chicago have moved into downtown offices, the subways and even the Chicago Public School headquarters.
I bet a few cans of spray paint or clear varnish applied thoroughly to all surfaces would do the trick (just be sure to do it OUTSIDE so the fumes don’t kill YOU!)
LOLOLOL. I had to hide a friend on Facebook for asking “what with the bedbugs do people still go to the movies?”
Glad to hear it’s the bedbugs that will do us in, and not the Zombies.
Yes