According to FindLaw, there is no state law in any of the 50 states that explicitly prohibits dumpster diving. While there may be local ordinances against it, for the most part, the right to search through garbage is protected under the constitution thanks to the 1988 Supreme Court ruling State of California v. Greenwood.
That said, when one is on private property, things can get a little dicey. While your actions may be legal, the company can still kick you off their property—or worse, give you a ban for a significant amount of time.
That’s exactly what happened to TikTok user Ella (@glamourddive). This is a TikToker known for going through trash bins and making incredible beauty discoveries, such as luxury perfumes while dumpster diving at Ulta, or brand new bras at Victoria’s Secret.
Recently, she documented herself dumpster diving at a local mall. The video shows her sorting through various items, such as fake eyelashes, sunglasses, a speaker, and more. After a little while, however, someone calls security.
“I thought they would’ve just told me to leave, but they ended up calling the cops,” the TikToker says. “This is definitely my worst encounter with security, so let’s see what happens.”
The security officer then says that they’re going to “CT” the TikToker, meaning they are going to say she was criminally trespassing.
@glamourddive Getting BANNED from the mall for dumpster diving 😳👮 #dumpster #dumpsterdiving #insane #busted #glamourddive ♬ Glamorous – Fergie
A follow-up video shows the actual arrival of the cops. While the police officer says what she’s doing is legal, he notes that the business has a legal right to ask her to stop and to remove her from the property.
“There’s nothing wrong with what you’re doing. You’re allowed to do that,” he explains. Later, he adds, “They have every right to ‘criminal trespass’ you from here, I guess they told you before. Not a big issue, but it seems like they have an issue. At this point you will be criminally trespassing, so you’re not allowed for a year. After that, you’re more than welcome to come back.”
@glamourddive Replying to @Shawn E They called the cops on me for dumpster diving.. #dumpster #dumpsterdiving #mall #busted #glamourddive ♬ Glamorous – Fergie
In the comments section, users complimented the professionalism of the police officer.
“Can we talk about how chill the cop was,” said a user.
“The cop literally don’t care,” offered a second. “He like just go somewhere else do it lol.”
Others simply questioned why the business was interested in stopping the TikToker from dumpster diving.
“THE MALL SHOULD DONATE EVERYTHING,” declared a commenter.
“All the businesses I ever worked for frown on dumpster diving,” claimed another. “why throw it away if you’re gonna have a fit later?”
We’ve reached out to Ella via Instagram DM.
