How Far Would You Go?

Daniel and Amanda started their freegan lifestyle about two years after they started dating. "At first, I was really grossed out," Amanda says. Daniel says he introduced the idea to Amanda because he had some friends who did it first. When he showed Amanda the quality of what they could get in the trash, she agreed to give it a try.

What made them think it was a good idea in the first place? Daniel says freegan ideas about consumption fit into their beliefs. "We try to live very simply, and we don't spend a lot on ourselves. We are very happy with having a little," he says. "We like to make it a priority to share a lot of our money. A lot of that comes from our Christian values of sharing and generosity."

They say their scavenging can be so productive that they sometimes can't even use everything they find! When that happens, Amanda says, they either give their surplus to others or donate it to shelters or charities. "Just put it back into the system rather than into a landfill," she says.