When Kentucky stores throw away new items, is it legal to dumpster dive?
Dumpster diving social media influencers have been known to attract millions of followers and establish lucrative resale businesses by recovering valuable discarded goods, even luxury items. But is the practice legal in Kentucky?
To answer that question, we spoke with Larry Forman, an attorney and CEO of the Louisville-based Forman & Associates, which lists shoplifting and theft defense as some of its main areas of practice.
As is often the case with the law, just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean you should. While dumpster diving isn’t itself illegal, laws broken while doing it can play a role, particularly Kentucky’s anti-trespassing laws.
Is dumpster diving illegal in Kentucky?
Like many legal questions, the answer is often not cut and dry.
In the 1988 U.S. Supreme Court decision California v. Greenwood, the court held that garbage placed curbside is not covered by Fourth Amendment protections. The court established a general rule that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for trash on public streets “readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops and other members of the public.”
“Is dumpster diving permitted in Kentucky?... The answer is yes,” Forman said, but added the general rule has some notable exceptions. “There is no reasonable expectation of privacy — unless there are signs.”
In the case of posted “No Trespassing” signs or fencing around a dumpster that indicates it’s not public, Forman said second-degree criminal trespassing would likely apply to those dumpster diving. Rifling through a business’ dumpster and remaining on the property after being asked to leave would be treated as third-degree criminal trespassing.
Laws against littering and loitering could also play a role, and municipalities can also pass and enforce their own rules against dumpster diving, Forman said. A provision of Lexington’s code of ordinances, Section 16-15(f) restricts removing items from trash receptacles, for example.
The provision reads, “It shall be unlawful for any person, other than refuse collectors in the division of waste management and a person duly licensed to collect, haul, convey or transport any of the waste materials herein mentioned, to interfere in any manner with the receptacles: containing any such waste materials, or to remove any such receptacle from the location where placed by the owner thereof, or to remove any of the contents of such receptacles. Peace officers in the execution of their official duties are exempt from this section.”
So while Kentucky may not have a law against dumpster diving specifically, that doesn’t mean it’s advisable. Apart from the legal issues you could encounter while doing it, it’s also just not very sanitary, Forman said.
“My first piece of advice would be absolutely don’t do it,” Forman said.
What are Kentucky’s trespassing laws and their penalties?
As explained by Forman, there are three main criminal trespass statutes in the commonwealth that outline the offense in the first, second and third degrees. These are described in the Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 511.
KRS 511.070 and KRS 511.080 are the most relevant when it comes to dumpster diving, and describe second- and third-degree criminal trespass, respectively.
Under KRS 511.070, a person is guilty of criminal trespass in the second degree when they knowingly enter or unlawfully linger in either a building or someone’s property, ignoring the warning of any posted signs or fencing. It’s a class B misdemeanor in Kentucky, which can be punished with a maximum $250 fine and up to 90 days in prison.
Third-degree criminal trespass, as outlined in KRS 511.080, is treated as a violation. It’s attached to a fine of up to $250, but jail time typically isn’t on the table.
Third-degree criminal trespass also involves knowingly entering and unlawfully remaining in or upon premises, but it doesn’t involve posted signs or fencing that deter trespassing. In an example Forman gave, if a person is dumpster diving on a property and they’re asked to leave but do not, they would be guilty of third-degree criminal trespass.
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This story was originally published October 3, 2025 at 5:00 AM.