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People on TikTok have filmed some of the treasures they found from dumpsters, and one viral video showed two large recycling bins filled with books.
"A massive amount of books were thrown out by Half Price Books in Austin," read the text over the video, which was posted to the TikTok account @oddballlvintage and viewed 100,000 times.
The camera pans over the two recycling bins that were filled with books, showing some of the titles, presumably located in Texas' capital city.
"It's a shame to think of the endless opportunities that these books could have had," the text read. "Although these are 'recycle bins,' these books are in decent condition and could have been used or donated before they were destroyed."
Many commenters were upset to see the full bins of books.
"One of my biggest dreams is to have a huge library so this is painful," TikTok viewer lee wrote. "All those books just gone."
Aylin commented, "This hurts my heart."
Another said that they are familiar with the company's "recycle nights" and would grab as many books as they could when possible.
"I used to live behind there, picked out some great books for years," wrote Katie Beavers686.
One viewer, who claimed to have worked at Goodwill, said they had to throw out the books that did not sell each Sunday.
Many viewers offered alternatives for where the books should go.
"That's terrible! What about schools, daycares, nursing homes?" viewer tammywillamsburns mulled.
According to its website, Half Price Books got its start in 1972 and has since opened more than 120 stores across the country.
"Our founders coined the phrase, 'We buy and sell everything ever printed or recorded [except yesterday's newspaper],'" the website stated. "And if you've been to one of our stores, you know that's true."
The website also noted that the company recycles and donates more than 1 million of its overstock books annually to local nonprofits and organizations.
Emily Bruce, the public relations manager for Half Price Books, told Newsweek that the organization makes an effort to find a home for books that are considered "unsellable."
Books considered unsellable may be damaged or out of date.
"We try to donate where we can, but we recycle the books that we can't sell in-store," Bruce said.
She also encouraged teachers and organizations to request a book donation.
"People are very passionate about books, they want to see the books remain in the community," Bruce said. "It's something people have commented on over the years. We try to keep those books in circulation."
Newsweek reached out to @oddballlvintage for comment.
Dumpster diving is a popular topic on TikTok and people have used the app to share some of their interesting finds.
Newsweek reported that TikTok user @dumpsterdivingfreegan posted a now-viral video talking about the amount of pet food that is thrown away by pet stores. She said the pet food she finds is close to hitting its "best by" date, but many animal shelters accept the food when she donates it.
She said the most amount of pet food she managed to save was 78 bags of dog food in a single "dive."
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more