I’m pregnant and getting my baby stuff that I’ve found in the BIN – you can get really decent bits… like coffee mugs
A COUPLE who met dumpster diving are now married and expecting their first baby - and love digging anniversary gifts and baby essentials out of bins.
Erin Sheffield and her husband, Dave, met in a bin in 2009 whilst they were both at university.
Erin was working at a bike shop, while Dave was studying mechanical engineering.
One evening Dave, 35, was out in a large rubbish bin and Erin, 39, popped over the top to ask what he was doing.
The pair hit it off and bonded over their love of dumpster diving, making rooting through bins part of their date-night itinerary.
Dumpster diving is an American term relating to searching through public bins for discarded items that may be of use.
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Popular locations to dumpster dive include the bins behind beauty and electronic stores, with some people finding brand new goods worth hundreds.
Erin and Dave got engaged in July 2020 and tied the knot in New York a year later.
The pair are now expecting their first child together - a baby girl due in April.
They still go dumpster diving two to three times a week and often grab gifts from the bin, including flowers for their anniversary or a baby swing for their unborn child.
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The couple also sell items they find on Facebook Marketplace or eBay and claim it has made them nearly £50,000 in the last three years.
"I started dumpster diving back in college," charity coordinator Erin said. "Dave was pretty similar.
"When it came to dating, I would need to find the right time to break it to them gently that I am a dumpster diver."
Luckily for Erin, Dave took no explaining.
Months after becoming co-dumpster divers, the couple's friendship blossomed into a relationship and they would go hunting in bins together.
Dave, a business owner, said: "When we started diving together it was pretty sporadic.
"Usually at the end of the semester when the students move out.
"One of the things we found a lot of was textbooks, after the year was over students would just throw them out.
"We found calculators, laundry detergent and office supplies and usually sell them on."
Erin and Dave said dumpster diving really picked up for them during the pandemic as they had more free time.
Dave added: "I found roses in a dumpster for our anniversary - they were perfect they weren't even old.
"I find a lot - especially in the months running up to Christmas.
"If I find something that I know Erin will like I will grab it.
"I have got her coffee mugs, candle holders, candles and flower pots as she is a keen gardener."
The couple are now expecting their first baby together and found some "great stuff" in the bins of a closing-down baby store.
Due to the success of their finds, Dave is starting a business called Lost Goods where he will sell on dumpster-dived goods.
The pair go out two to three times a week but admit it is hard for Erin to get in and out of the dumpster nowadays.
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Dave said: "In the business, we will be using a lot of the materials that we find to upcycle furniture and stuff like that.
"We try and go out two to three times a week depending on the week and it is a little tricky for Erin at the moment."