A MOTHER of four is providing for her family through dumpster diving - despite being labelled as ‘gross’. Tiffany Butler lives in Aubrey, Texas, with her husband and four children. Over four years ago, Tiffany decided to quit her previous job and become a dumpster diver full-time, finding items thrown out by different stores. Tiffany, who calls herself the ‘Dumpster Diving Mama’, is able to sustain a living through repurposing and reselling the items she finds. Tiffany told Truly: “Once you find all this stuff for free you are not going to want to stop and go to the shop.” Tiffany, who initially came across dumpster diving online, used to go a couple of times a week and on the weekends. Now, as a full-timer, she goes every single day. Dumpster diving is legal in Tiffany’s state and she only ever sells items that are practically brand new and undamaged. However, people still criticise her for it. “There’s been a lot of negative comments,” she said. “People ask if I dive because I’m poor or homeless.” Tiffany says a common misconception people have is that it is gross and dirty, but she explains most stores throw away stuff in boxes or bags and are usually clean. Tiffany started sharing her dumpster diving activities on TikTok and to her surprise, gained 50,000 followers in the first week. Now she has 1.6 million followers and a loyal network of fans and sponsorship deals. “People tell me I’ve inspired them to go diving - it’s crazy!”
www.instagram.com/dumpsterdivingmama/