Yep, when I worked commercial I would raid the dumpsters fairly regularly. I picked up lots of copper wire, lumber pieces, steel framing pieces, various types of piping materials, roofing materials, you name it if I thought I had a use for it I took it and I still have most of it.
If I didn't have to worry about getting into trouble now, I'd be going through the dumpsters at the several construction projects going on all around me now. Maybe I'll see if I can, with permission of course, get back into dumpster diving at some point in the future.

Yes indeed all of My adult life Ive done this being an electrician for some years Ive had these resouces available and although housing is in a slump the most wastefull kind of building still exists near the city GOVERNMENT and they are the most wastefull of all .........this kind of resourcefullness is found throughout the History of America by the way Happy 4th everyone
Whitewolf

Since I service al retail customers I see all sorts of goodies thrown into the dumpsters. Sadly, I'm always refused when I ask permission to remove some of the items. Nothing with any retail value mind you, just scrounging/survival/prep value to me.
None of the retailers do mind when I remove broken down cardboard boxes from the dumpsters, just can't remove former merchandise and I've seen all sorts of stuff. Vacuum cleaners, shelving units, toys, cosmetics, foodstuffs, electronic items that were severely damaged inside before being tossed, kitchen appliances in the same condition, clothing that has been destroyed, shoes that have been cut almost in two, too much to consider.
Cardboard boxes, that's about it right now but, storage means is always a good thing.

My chicken coop was built with scrap and has a 50 year green metal roof better than the roof on my house. Scrounging building materials has always been a practice of mine. It’s amazing what people will throw away. Santa Clara California has what they call Santa Clara dump days. Once a year in the spring the residents can put whatever they want on the street and after two weeks the city comes around with a loader and semi trucks and they pick it up and haul it away for free. Anything you could possibly think of is out there. Not just building materials but tools, antique furniture, books you name it.

Oh yes indeedee! I worked in construction all of my life and hauled home enough leftover building materials to reconstruct Berlin after WW2. While working with SS5R I scrounged cabinets, windows, leftover bundles of insulation and shingles, buckets of color coat plaster, bricks, rebar and all kinds of good stuff. Construction has come to a complete halt here but it has always happened in a feast or famine cycle. Now to compensate for the current lack of building I am engaged in "shoulder shopping", which is eyeballing the sides of the highway for useable items that have fallen off of trucks, RVs, trailers etc.

I used to do a lot of residential HVAC work, all commercial now, especially during years of the housing boom. Driving through all these neighborhoods with lots of new houses being built, I had a readily available supply of various components for use as needed.
I got quite a bit of lumber in various sizes and types, sometimes copper wire, plumbing materials of various sizes and lengths, roofing materials, lots of sheetrock pieces and I could pick up thousands of screws and nails all over the place if I was so inclined. I use a big magnet now since bending is not a good idea most times.
I have built well houses, dog houses, storage cabinets, furniture and other stuff with my construction dumpster finds plus, I've made all sorts of repairs to my and others houses.
Has anyone else been tapping into these type survivalist resources? I know the housing boom has gone bust but, my job travels all over my state show me that construction is not dead and there are still large quantities of building materials being tossed into the dumpsters every day. I always ask permission of the crew foremen before taking anything out of dumpsters, don't need to tick off any of these just as big as I am builders.
Time to go diving I'd say!