Jake has found everything from jewellery to designer handbags – as well as food – and needs a storage unit to hold everything he rescues
A dumpster diver says he makes £600 a month from treasures he digs out of shop bins, and he has a storage unit to hold them all. Jake Stevens spends around four hours every night rifling through shop rubbish.
The 34-year-old says he’s rescued thousands of pounds’ worth of valuable items — and now rents a storage unit the size of a shed to keep them all. Among his most impressive finds are a £1,500 Gucci bag, antique jewellery, and even a World War One Christmas tin.
He rakes in around £600 a month by selling his bin treasures at car boot sales. “It’s like an addiction,” said Jake, from Portsmouth. “Some of the stuff they throw away is beyond me. I found £1,500 of jewellery in one night.
“There were gold rings and bracelets. I’ve found a £1,500 Gucci bag and a World War One Christmas tin. That’s a piece of history that’s been discarded.
“There are games, toys, Christmas decorations, clothes, antiques, a baby pram and a dehumidifier. I sell everything at a car boot and it helps with bills. We’re not well off.
“I’ve provided to friends and family. I give dog food to my friend.”
Jake, who works in recruitment, forks out £70 a month to keep all his finds in a storage unit. His food shop has been cut by £50 a week thanks to the piles of bread, biscuits, flour and eggs he’s found.
Jake says he’ll keep diving for as long as shops continue to throw out “perfectly good stuff”. He’s sharing his story to raise awareness of the amount of waste produced by shops.
He added: “Charity shops get donations every single day, and they can’t keep everything, but they should sell it for £1. Ive donated a few hundred kilos of clothes to a charity shop that I trust.
“Security has run at me like I’m a shoplifter before, but as soon as it’s in the bin, it doesn’t belong to the shop anymore. A few years ago, dumpster diving was frowned upon.
“The amount we waste is not normal, and I’m breaking that cycle by making sure things go to use again.”