Surfing the Waste: A Musical Documentary About Dumpster Diving

"Dumpster diving" doesn't involve jumping into trashcans from great heights. It's a form of protest against wasting energy and throwing food and other products away too soon. It's also part of an idealistic lifestyle called "freeganism," which sprang up in the 1990s. Freeganism involves using alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. In this short musical, the camera captures the convictions of five young people in Montreal who go around looking for reusable waste material. The whole kitchen is equipped with it, so apparently everything they need can be found on the street. To save energy, they run the blender with a pedal and bicycle wheel. "The odd thing is that many people take offence at what we do," one of the guys notes. Perhaps the faultfinders consider freeganism an implicit form of disapproval of their own lifestyle. The young people present their own opinions about this lifestyle in song, accompanied by piano.