One Man's Trash

Matt Malone of Austin, Texas, has a good day job as a security specialist with a six figure salary. He is also a founder of Assero Security. Nevertheless, Malone spends many of his off hours looking through trash. He earns a sizable amount of money from this activity. He stops next to a dumpster located at the back of an Office Depot. He leans inside the dumpster and comes out with a complete Uniden Wireless Video Surveillance System. This normally sells for $419. A few of his recent recoveries are power tools, furniture, carpeting, assorted electronics, and industrial machine. Some of what he finds needs a little attention, but some is in perfect condition. Malone started dumpster diving 9 years ago. At first he used his discoveries for various hobby projects. Later when his garage was overflowing, he staged a yard sale. A big threat looms for Malone and other scavengers: the increasingly widespread use of commercial-size trash compactors.