Dumpster diving to give back. Metro and his kids, Lynnea and Nathan, are doing what they have been doing for the last 10 years: heading out on their weekly dumpster-diving run. 

“There are a few people who mention that this really helps,” Metro said, the founder of the grassroots organization Dumpster Diving in Metro Vancouver.

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“I don’t know if excitement is the right word, but the anticipation, you never know what you’re going to find, you walk up to a dumpster, go up and nothing, and then you go, okay, what’s that, and very rarely you get the, holy, they threw that away, you got to be kidding me.”

They’ll find items, mostly food, that they believe can still be used.

Things like bags of rice, boxes of pop, hot sauce, and more. At no cost, they give it back to those in need.

And with the rising costs of living, Metro says recently, there has been a growing demand for their services.

“We’re not really involved in their lives, but it’s kind of a nice feeling to say ok this is food that was going to be wasted, and be trash, and now there’s someone who is saying they can use it, seeing their anticipation or joy, you have that? It’s kind of a good feeling,” Metro added.

They follow their own set of rules about what they can and can’t take.

Raw meat is off-limits. Refrigerated items get a touch test, and everything must still be sealed.

One major no-go: health-related products.

Sometimes, entire boxes of new items are discarded because one bottle broke during transportation, or because products set aside for staff were never used.

“It’s not common we find a big store like this, it’s quite uncommon actually, so it’s been really nice to hit this one the past few weeks and get some stuff out of it. It’s a way to spend time together, it feels nice to do this knowing what we do is give to other people, which is nice, it’s quite fun, I find,” Lynnea said.

“It turned into kind of a family affair, I really like that. The kids started coming along. I have some great memories when they were younger, just going around with dad in the car, finding places.”

Today’s run saw them return home with over 200 items. Their next meetup is planned for June.

“Some people have bare cupboards, get a bottle of hot sauce, and it could make life a little easier,” Metro said.