Dumpster Diving as a Multisensory Experience – Exploring the Embodied Skills of the Forager

Abstract

This article explores dumpster diving as a multisensory and embodied experience and skill. Based on sensory autoethnographic fieldwork, research literature, and social media contents, the study analyzes multisensory dimensions of dumpster diving in relation to social norms, shame, and the cultural construction of waste. Dumpster diving is shown to transcend economic or ecological motivations, involving ethical, bodily, and aesthetic dimensions. The study highlights how sensory perceptions – such as auditory sense, gustatory taste, smell, touch, sight, and kinesthetic senses – guide dumpster diving practices and shape experiential relations to food and its value. Dumpster diving emerges as a liminal space where food is simultaneously devalued and valuable, clean and questionable. The research sheds light on how embodiment, multisensory experience, and cultural meanings intersect in everyday food practices and perceptions.