Denmark
From Trashwiki
Denmark is a pretty interesting country to do dumpster diving.
It's not illegal to dumpster dive there as long as you don't do any trespassing; however, dumpster diving there is not legal, either (as of Dec.08, 2008, all is very much situational). If you do trespass and get caught in action, you can only be dismissed. If you jam up locks or do other kinds of vandalism, you could possibly be charged for it. The police can only charge you, if you break anything.
Apparently, in Copenhagen police chose to blind-eye dumpster diving because they've got other things to do with their time. But in the provincial towns the story is quite different: if you are unskilled/unlucky enough to be caught in the act you'll get your name & identity number recorded; you can be warned and even fined (up to 500 Danish crowns, which is around 85$). If you are an ethnic Dane you stand a better chance of talking your way out of any unpleasantness, but if you are a foreigner you may find the cops are not terribly sympathetic.
There are quite a few Eastern & Southern European "seasonal workers" and such who do dumpster diving in Denmark.
In general, you can find a huge variety of things in Copenhagen: from olive oil to bicycles (as by experience of Sigurdas' brother in Aug.2008)
[edit] Links
- www.gratismad.com Info on dumpster diving in Denmark, with maps (in Danish)
