Is It Illegal To Dumpster Dive in Pennsylvania?

You know what they say, one man’s trash is another one’s treasure. Dumpster diving is not my go-to pastime or hobby, but there are a lot of people who take this “thrifting” hobby to the next level. I’ve seen plenty of TikToks oddly of “dumpster diving hacks” and it amazes me what people can pull out of a dumpster.

I have seen people getting inside dumpsters outside of Target, Ulta, Sephora, etc, and pulling out brand-new makeup palettes or even packaged foods.

Of course, people have been doing this for the longest time for various reasons, but something about it feels wrong, right?

I’m not even just talking about the fact that you are knees or elbows deep in someone else’s trash, I just mean it kind of feels like it could be stealing in some way. This raises the question that I feel a lot of us have. Is it truly legal to do this?

Is Dumpster Diving Illegal in Pennsylvania?

After doing a little bit of research, it turns out this hobby/tactic is completely legal in the state of Pennsylvania according to Bizarre Hobby and RobinGreenfield.org. Although, if there’s a “No Trespassing” sign, you may get into some trouble, but other than that, it is perfectly legal to go dumpster diving throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Is this a new hobby you want to take up or is this is something your kid wants to try out, don’t stress, you aren’t doing anything illegal.