Dumpster Diving
Search every dumpster, trash can, skip and bin bag for materials, food and rare finds, and level up your Dumpster Diver skill.
Every dumpster, street trash can, construction skip and bin bag in the city can be searched. It's free, anyone can do it, and it's one of the easiest ways to get crafting materials when you're starting out.
What you find depends on the kind of bin and the part of the city you're in. The more you search, the better your Dumpster Diver level gets - faster searches, fewer empty bins and more rare finds.
Before you begin
- Nothing - every new character can do this.
- Gloves (as clothing) are strongly recommended: they stop injuries and help you find a bit more.
- A
Shovel if you want to dig up a treasure map (see below).
Searching a bin
- Walk up to a bin. A floating label appears over it - Dumpster, Trash can, Skip, Bin bag or Waste bin. No third eye needed.
- Press E. A small menu opens and tells you Gloves on or No gloves - watch your hands.
- Pick Search the trash. You dig around for a few seconds.
- You get something, or "Nothing but garbage".
| Bin | Search time | What's inside |
|---|---|---|
| Dumpster | Longest | Full loot for the area |
| Skip (construction) | Long | Building scrap: metal scrap, scrap iron, wire, iron, steel |
| Trash can | Medium | Full loot for the area |
| Waste bin (indoors) | Short | Depends on the room (a hospital bin has hospital stuff) |
| Bin bag on the ground | Quick | Junk only: plastic, bottles, cans, newspaper |
The area decides the loot
| Area | What you find |
|---|---|
| Near hospitals | Bandages, gauze, syringes, plastic, cloth |
| Near pharmacies | Pill bottles, vials, syringes, plastic |
| Rich areas (Rockford Hills, Richman, Vinewood Hills) | Tech scrap, silver rings and chains, sometimes a gold ring, a pocket watch or a phone |
| Davis, Strawberry, Grove Street, Rancho | Bottles, cans, sometimes a lockpick, a lighter or a broken bottle |
| Next to a 24/7 store | Sandwiches, water, bottles, cans, sometimes a scratch card |
| Docks | Metal scrap, rubber, plastic, scrap iron, chains, oil |
| Construction sites | Metal scrap, scrap iron, copper wire, iron, steel |
| Everywhere else | Plastic, bottles, cans, cloth, glass, metal scrap, rubber, aluminium |
Some things, like Rolling Paper, are only found in the trash.
Used drug supplies from the bin (syringes, vials, pill bottles, baggies, scales) may be dirty. You can't see it, but it can cause trouble if you use them for anything.
Your Dumpster Diver level
Every search earns XP, with a bonus for finds and rare finds. Type /binstats to see your level, XP, bins searched and rare finds. Max level is 10. Higher levels give faster searches, fewer empty results, a chance of two finds from one bin and better rare chances.
Rare finds
- Scratch card - use
Scratch Card from your inventory and scratch for a few seconds. Most say "No luck this time", some pay a small prize, and once in a long while one pays big.
- Lost wallet -
Lost Wallet. Use it to keep the cash and usually get
Someone's ID Card, or hand it in at the front desk of Mission Row police station (E Hand in lost property) for a reward in your bank.
- Old car keys - use
Old Car Keys in a street with parked cars. The tag names a plate and a yellow circle appears on your map. The car the keys fit is somewhere inside.
- Torn map pieces - collect all four (
Torn Map (1/4) to 4/4), use one to join them into a
Treasure Map, use the map, walk inside the green circle until [E] Dig here shows, and press E with a
- Even rarer - experienced divers in rich neighbourhoods sometimes pull out gold chains and expensive watches.
The car the old keys fit isn't yours. Driving off with it is vehicle theft, and sometimes a witness calls the police.
Very rarely, something strange is taped under a dumpster lid... see Stashes & Dead Drops.
Costs & rewards
- Searching is free.
- XP per search, more for finds and rare finds. XP stops counting if you search too many bins in a minute.
- Map pieces start showing from level 2, old car keys from level 3, and the best rich-area jewelry needs a higher level still.
- Lost wallets hold a little cash; handing one in pays a reward per wallet and per ID.
Common problems
- "Someone already went through this one" - a searched bin stays empty for a while. Move on to the next one.
- You got hurt - no gloves. Broken glass cuts, rat bites and (in rough areas, near hospitals and pharmacies) used needles that can cause an infection. Use a bandage or see EMS.
- XP isn't going up - you're searching too fast. Slow down a bit.
- The car keys did nothing - there was no parked car they fit nearby. You keep them; try another street.
- Can't dig - you need a
Thanks! Staff will look at it.