My Ugly Green Cups

by Bobby X

I was biking to work the other day, checking out some dumpsters cause they need to be checked, and lo and behold there was an almost complete set of these ugly green cups sitting in the parking lot. They were brand new and stackable and the fourth was easily found in the nearby dumpster. Looking them over, they were spotless with a barcode sticker on the bottom along with the words ‘Made in China.’ I stashed them in my bag and continued to work.

I’m a dumpster diver, no way around it. I hesitate to write on the subject at all, because I don’t want any type of heat coming down on anyone who chooses to look through “trash.” If the first ‘rule’ of D.Diving is to leave the dumpster cleaner than you found it so as to not piss off people who could try stupid things like locking dumpsters, then the second ‘rule’ would have to be to only discuss the practice with people who may have a chance of getting it. Word gets out to the wrong people and suppression and fascism will begin just for kicks.

So mum’s the word except I was sitting there in work that day with my green cup filled with water thinking about how many shit-eatin jobs I’d worked (too depressing to count but it's at least a higher number than insincere shout-outs by commercial rappers). How many of these jobs had coworkers constantly using throw away containers on a daily basis? Many of these jobs had facilities available where everyone easily could’ve washed their containers and refilled them right there but everyone chose to just throw shit away and start over again the next day.

This is the first water cooler job I’ve ever had (it's in computers and it sucks just as hard as the rest) so I started out using a styrofoam cup for water and trying to keep it in as good as shape as possible. That was usually a week or two and then I’d sadly look at the grungy ol’ thing and decide I didn’t feel like risking it. I’d toss it in the garbage and start over thinking I was at least trying. That is…until the green cup. Now months have gone by, and I’m still using my one green cup with the rest chilling at my apt. Is it ugly? Oh hell yes. Does it match anything? Hell no. Does it hold liquids for me to drink? Uhm, yes- over and over…

My greenies also got me thinking about how some gal or guy all the way in China took time out of their lives- probably for some ripe shit pay -to make those cups. How they got shipped way the hell across the globe only to be thrown away, even though they were brand spanking new. You may say, "What’s the big deal, it's just some ugly cups the dollar store couldn’t sell so they ate the cost?" Throwing away four of anything is wasteful in my mind, but I could almost understand the lack of concern. However, I said I’m a dumpster diver, remember? If you could possibly have seen all the items I’ve seen thrown away that read Made In China… Think of it this way: I have found a ton of brand new shit at one of those dollar store dumpsters in Asheville, NC. I only go to that dumpster two or three times a month so there is a lot of other stuff I know gets thrown out that I missed. Then I thought of how many dollar type stores we had in my wasteland town. Now think of all the other cities across America and all their dollar type stores. That’s a whole lotta shit getting shipped from China to be thrown away!

My point? My wrap-up? Look, figure the shit out for yourself. For me, I re-use, recycle, pass on everything. Once you start, you’ll see how everything you do could be done in a different and almost certainly more efficient way. It's just you don’t see people doing that kinduv thing so you don’t think about it. For example, the next time you have something in your hous (like a Tupperware container without a lid) that you’re gonna toss, try to think of another use for it. Because chances are a lot of petrol was used in making that plastic and in getting it to a store for you to buy. So make the most out of everything, 'cause the enviro impact of almost everything in modern society is immeasurable.