Laurinburg Exchange

My dumpster-diving daughter

W. Curt Vincent Editor

My youngest daughter lives above the Mason-Dixon Line. Way above it. In fact, she may still be shoveling out from under a record-setting 41-inch snowstorm last month.

I’ve attempted to convince, entice and woo her on the value of moving below the Mason-Dixon line, to no avail. Children, friends and roots — the trifecta of reasons given. But that’s a discussion for another time.

Instead, there is this: She is a school bus driver.

That’s the minor ingredient here.

The main ingredient? She has become a dumpster diver.

The two are connected … or were.

Before the trio of holidays, my daughter saw on Tik-Tok that people across the country had started going through dumpsters behind businesses like Bath & Body Works — and finding treasure troves of discarded candles, lotions and the like.

Not BAD stuff, just damaged stuff.

So my daughter, who has struggled with the challenges presented to school bus drivers because of COVID-19, decided to give it a shot and see what financial potential there might be.

Turns out, at least for now, there is none — all because of another decision my daughter made.

But I’m jumping ahead.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, my daughter ventured out on her first dumpster-diving mission armed with gloves up to her elbows and waders up to her hips, a la Mike Rowe. It was a weekend, so she was hoping for success — and found it.

With her two children tagging along — mostly so she could hand things out to them — the haul quickly became stunning. That haul included 17 three-wick candles, which she then converted into 16 16-ounce candles and 12 4-ounce candles.

One night later, she grabbed four more three-wick candles to convert.

On night three, she got two small candles, a body lotion and body spray.

Then the snow came, so her escapades went into hibernation for a few days.

When she got back at it, she decided to expand her search and began visiting other dumpsters behind businesses. It paid off immediately.

Among other things, she found a 30-pound bag of dog food, a bag of parakeet food, 50 packs of batteries, a box filled with hundreds of greeting cards, three-tier seasonal storage boxes, Tegu magnetic wooden blocks, two stuffed animals, a girls winter hat, a boys winter hat and numerous additional candles of all sizes.

By her own estimate, she has gathered hundreds upon hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise that stores have trashed and written off. But wrap your head around this: The box full of greeting cards alone has a retail value of more than $2,100. Wowza.

So one would think my daughter would soon be flush with cash as she began posting these items on eBay or Facebook or Craig’s List or wherever those who search the social media black market go.

One would be wrong, however.

Here’s that decision I mentioned above: My daughter decided fairly early on that she would not sell ANY of what she found. Not a candle, not a greeting card, nothing.

I’m proud of her for that decision. I mean, I know what she has gathered are items that were headed for the dump. She didn’t steal them. They are all free to anyone who makes the effort. So she honestly COULD sell the stuff if she chose to.

But she says no. Emphatically.

And here is where I really puff up with pride: Instead, my daughter has decided to DONATE most of the items she found. Sure, she plans to keep some things for herself and her children or friends, but the majority will be given to places that can use them. For instance, the hundreds of greeting cards have been given to a local nursing home for residents to use, the dog food has gone to the local animal shelter and candles have been spread far and wide already.

Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Samuel L. Jackson likes to ask, “What’s in YOUR wallet?” Right now I’m asking, “What’s in OUR local dumpsters?”

W. Curt Vincent can be reached at 910-506-3023 or cvincent@laurinburgexch.wpenginepowered.com.