Check Local Laws for “Garbage Ordinances”
Dumpster diving is technically legal in all 50 states. In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled in State of California v. Greenwood that searching trash is legal as long as it does not conflict with any city, county, or state ordinances.
Consider the following example of such an acceptable form of dumpster diving. Let’s say that someone is looking through the trash bag that you left on the curb outside your house, where you typically leave trash for pick up by waste management personnel. Given that the curb outside your house is a public space, you can no longer reasonably expect someone to observe the privacy of that place where you left your trash. In other words, it becomes “public domain,” and the Fourth Amendment no longer applies. Under the Fourth Amendment, intrusions into private spaces tend to become a problem.
This means most garbage can be searched or taken by the police, a neighbor, waste removal employees, or a stranger.
In the State of Washington, law enforcement is not allowed to dig through your trash even if it is in the public right of way.
In the State of Washington, law enforcement is not allowed to dig through your trash even if it is in the public right of way.