“I got everything from the garbage dump”: Russians who went abroad began to eat from trash cans

Our interlocutors shared their experience of survival in their own and foreign countries.

Victoria has been traveling the world without money for a long time and gives advice on how not to stay hungry anywhere in the world. In addition to searching for food in garbage cans, the girl recommends begging in bakeries and cafes. He says that store employees can share stale vegetables and fruits. And in warehouses there are always expired products.

I have many friends who travel without money. I have 50 bucks in my pocket and they don’t care. They fly, for example, to Goa and survive normally,” says Victoria. – If you disdain to delve into the garbage, then you can beg for food in cafes or shops. It took me five years to understand that there is nothing shameful in this. At one time I myself worked in a bakery and saw how whole packages of pastries were thrown away in the evenings. And the bistro staff poured pots of soup. This is happening all over the world.

Now, when I am in any country, I first of all go to a cafe and ask if they have left yesterday’s food. Rarely did she leave without a catch.

– Have you recently encountered the fact that the owners of a cafe abroad refused you because you are Russian?

– Depends on the country. For example, in India, no one cares. But in Georgia the attitude towards us has changed. Several times in the bakeries I was refused. They said that there is no old pastry for me.

What countries are best for begging?

— In countries where there is money. In the same India, it’s hard, there any piece of food will be eaten by someone. They are served only in tourist places.

Good in Europe. And Turkey is a paradise. For example, in Istanbul, I came to the bakery, asked if there was anything unnecessary. If there was something to share, they gave it to me without any problems. In one cafe in Antalya, they gave me a whole package of stale cakes. They turned out to be tasteless, but hunger is not an aunt. If there was nothing left in the cafe, then the employees of the establishment advised to approach the closing time or in the morning. By the way, sometimes even fresh products were shared with me. Türkiye is a generous country in this regard. As a result, for the week I almost did not spend a penny.

Do you disdain eating spoiled food?

– They never gave me a completely spoiled one. Any finished product, if it has lain down for 1-2 days, then it is usable. I have never been poisoned.

– In addition to cakes and pastries, can you get meat products?

– I have a girlfriend, she is a hippie, she is over 40 years old. Lives in a small Russian town. She befriends butchers who give her whole bags of bacon scraps over the years. She prepares meals from them on a regular basis. It turns out delicious.

— How are things with the contents of the dumps?

– The richer the country, the better the assortment in the trash cans. In countries with a high standard of living, people often throw away what they bought, but changed their mind about eating.

The freegans have mapped the garbage heaps of the world. You click on one or another city, and it indicates where good garbage dumps are located, which stores throw products where, what time it is better to approach. Most of the washing points are indicated in Europe and the USA. There, people with technology are friends and consciously approach consumption.

By the way, freegans in Moscow don’t complain either. They sometimes eat better than the inhabitants of the regions. People scour the elite garbage dumps, find French blue cheese, raw smoked sausage, expensive booze and various delicacies.

Somehow my friends and I lived for a month in a tent in the forest. Periodically went to the city for groceries. While my friends were shopping at the supermarket, I went to the back of the store and looked into the tanks. There were often boxes or nets of spoiled vegetables. A bag of cucumbers and tomatoes always managed to be collected. All this turned out to be quite edible. When I manage to snatch something, I get the feeling that I “hacked” this life.

But meat products in the dumps must be approached wisely. See the expiration date on the package. If the delay is 1-2 days, that is, you can.

Now I live in Goa. We drink water from a spring, live in tents, freegan at local cafes.

— Are there many Russian freegans there?

– Yes. But personally, I don’t want to be a freeloader all the time. Now I have less than 100 bucks left, I think where to get money. So I was invited to a party, to earn some money for a party-girl. You need to dance, entertain guests. They promised to pay 1300 rubles for 4 hours. In Turkey, I worked in a bakery for a month and received 8,000 liras (27,600 rubles). Then I plan to go to the Emirates to look for work. But it’s harder to freegan there, despite the high standard of living.

“Hunting with a Ukrainian and a German”

Sergey, 16, started freeganning a year and a half ago when he moved to Germany. The young man lives with his parents in a hostel for refugees on state benefits.

“Here, look how much I got the other day, everything from the garbage dump …

Sergei demonstrates the king’s catch: boxes of chocolates, pineapples, bananas, broccoli, apples, oranges, packaged greens, building tools.

“In Germany, things are going well with freeganism,” the young man continues. – Here, rich people often throw away working equipment, clothes. And in the trash cans behind shops or in large containers near residential buildings, you can find tens of kilograms of cheese, fruits, vegetables, or expensive chocolate. It makes no sense to collect a lot of perishable products, you won’t eat everything. Another thing is with chocolate, dried fruits – such products can be stored for months even after the expiration date. I usually don’t rake out everything edible if I know that someone else is feeding from these trash cans. It is right to leave a certain amount of food for another person.

Despite the fact that everything has become very expensive in Germany, stores continue to throw away food if the expiration date is coming to an end. There is no choice, they have everything strictly. Well, ordinary people also do not eat food if the storage date is running out.

Freeganit Sergey with a friend from Ukraine and a German. He says his parents recently joined him.

– If money is tight, then garbage dumps help out. In addition to food and clothes, you can collect cans for which they give 25 cents. You can earn a couple of euros a day.

What were the biggest finds?

– Somehow they found 70 liters of wine, 10 electric motors from various equipment and about 30 kg of sanitary copper and brass. One day, an optician wrote off several boxes of sealed cases for expensive brands such as Pierre Cardin, Tom Ford, Dior, Giorgio Armani and others. Cases are still in boxes, hands do not reach to disassemble and put up for sale. And it would be worth it, you can get several thousand euros for them.

In general, I’m not used to luxury, I don’t disdain wearing used things. I don’t understand why pay more when you can find it for free.

“Before CBO, the assortment was richer”

Daniil is a freegan from Kazakhstan. According to the young man, the number of adherents of the “garbage” lifestyle has recently increased.

— In Kazakhstan, this movement is gaining momentum. But we have serious competitors. There are a lot of your people here who have suddenly become interested in freeganism. But we do not reveal the places where there really are worthy garbage cans, says Daniil. — There have always been many people in need in Kazakhstan, and now there are even more. You can often see pensioners near garbage dumps. Now there are more families with many children. Well, visiting Russians are not shy about climbing garbage dumps.

Another young man, Maxim, freeganized in different countries for many years. “In my opinion, the most “appetizing” dumps in Denmark. In Copenhagen containers you can find fresh vegetables, fruits, bread, pizza and even sweets. Luxurious conditions for freegans are created in Germany and Sweden. Do not hesitate to eat from the dumps in Spain. In these countries, store workers always take out containers and distribute food to people. But things are not very good in the Baltics. For example, in Lithuania, those who need to survive climb containers, and not for the purpose of saving. Yes, and there is nothing special to profit from there. You have to work hard to find something.”

And what about the Moscow garbage dumps? Dmitry shared his experience of freeganism in the capital: “Before the CBO, the assortment was rich, I often found pizza, sushi, imported alcohol in containers, ranging from beer to cognac and whiskey. There were exotic fruits that the average buyer cannot afford. That is, without money it was possible to eat deliciously and swell. It happened that in the garbage he found more food than he could carry. In this case, freegans share their findings with colleagues.

I’m not afraid to get sick. In fact, in the garbage is the same thing as in the store, only you do not need to pay for it. In four years, I have never been poisoned.

Now the assortment of Moscow dumps has become more scarce. It is noticeable that people have stopped throwing food away. They eat everything. But in any case, if you spend time, you can find something.

Freegans share their findings in chats. One girl wrote that there were more competitors in the Russian regions, the garbage dumps were empty: “That year there were finds every day, now I go all summer and zero. Dropped this thing. What’s the point of digging through shit. During the day you can still get lucky, but competitors go one after another. Previously, even drunks did not take everything, now people are happy to even rake out rot. Well, since last year I have collected a bag of shampoos, enough for a couple of years. And the clothes are so for 5-10 years.