Dumpster Diving Under Fire

Lindt is well-known for its luxury candy products, but Exonians have recently found a way around the price tag.In a practice commonly referred to as “dumpster diving,” students have been retrieving expired chocolates from dumpsters behind the local Lindt outlet despite the disapproval of the company. Dumpster diving is not limited to the Lindt outlet—students have also found items ranging from speakers to old license plates in nearby dumpsters.Lindt has posted signs of trespassing on their property and warned that they will press charges against anyone who trespasses in such a fashion. “It is important to understand that it is unsafe for people to investigate dumpsters at Lindt retail and outlet locations to search for discarded chocolate. “This is purposeful so people will not try to climb into the receptacles and potentially injure themselves. Safety is a key priority for Lindt,” a Lindt spokesperson wrote in a statement from Lindt USA.While students have engaged in dumpster diving before, retrieving items ranging from speakers to old license plates there was an increase in the activity at the outlet following the holiday season, due to large amounts of expired and mispackaged products being discarded in the store’s dumpsters.Although students largely disregarded the expiration dates, Lindt stated that expired chocolates could potentially be a health hazard. “All Lindt USA products bear sell-by dates, and we are diligent about monitoring these dates in all of our retail and outlet stores to ensure we only sell a premium, quality product, that is safe to consumers,” Lindt wrote.After being contacted by Lindt Officials on Tuesday, Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove Cosgrove sent an email to the student body urging students to consider the company’s point of view. “Dumpsters have signs that clearly indicate that the dumpsters are private property.” He informed Exonians that the Lindt Outlet have now locked their dumpsters, adding that the Stratham Police Department has indicated that dumpster diving as a form of trespassing and an arrestable offence. Dean Mischke forwarded the email to faculty advisers.Another student, who also wishes to remain anonymous, said that Exonians began dumpster diving after a school project required them to find waste and then convince companies to make constructive use of it. “We were trying to convince [Lindt] to give it to the Exeter food bank, otherwise the chocolate is just going to go to waste,” the student said. “We went [to speak to Lindt] a couple times, but we still haven’t been able to convince them to do anything about it due to liability issues. The chocolate we found was two weeks expired but the chocolate doesn’t go bad for at least four or five months after it’s expired.”Some students believed that dumpster diving was a way to reduce and reuse wasted food and objects. “Dumpster diving allows for items to be reused through society, like the old saying, ‘one man's trash is another man's treasure,’” a student, who requested to remain anonymous, said. “Dumpsters around business areas are a great resource for cardboard and other discarded building material.”“The amount of candy in Lindt’s dumpsters makes me wonder if there is a better way to discard such expensive ‘old’ food without posing hazards to the people who consume it or the company who could distribute it,” another anonymous student said. “Perhaps the chocolate could be distributed to food banks right before expiring.”