Singapore's 'freegans' find treasure in trash

Filipina domestic worker Glendrose Gorriceta reacts after winning a free Louis Vuitton bag during a giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items at the house of Singaporean freegan Colin Lau in Singapore November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A new movement in Singapore that seeks to reduce the amount of consumer waste in the affluent city-state is scavenging for unwanted goods, some in near-mint condition, that migrant workers can send home for the holidays.

"Freegans", broadly defined as people committed to cutting wasteful production and consumption, have connected with thousands of foreign laborers from lower-income countries, many of whom cannot afford the products sold in the city's shiny shopping malls.

Freegans, who wish to remain anonymous, look through trash bags from a bin while dumpster diving in Singapore November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

In Singapore, the luxurious backdrop for the movie "Crazy Rich Asians", what passes as trash for one household ends up in a shipping container on its way to the home country of a migrant worker.

"We should give whatever we have in excess to the poor instead of throwing it away," said Colin Lau, a member of the "Freegan in Singapore" Facebook group whose 6,500 members includes Singaporeans and foreigners.

Some members like Lau search dumpsters and rubbish bins, retrieving discarded items and re-using them or sharing with others in an effort to save money and the environment.

Freegan Daniel Tay waits to cross the road while dumpster diving, next to his makeshift trolley carrying a massager that he found, in Singapore November 17, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Singapore's waste is incinerated or shipped to its only landfill on a nearby man-made island. The National Environment Agency (NEA) has estimated that the landfill could reach capacity by 2035, a decade earlier than initially projected.

The freegans often post photos of their discoveries, including barely-worn clothing, jewelery, electronics and luxury goods such as handbags. They also share items with migrant workers at weekly giveaways.

At one such gathering before the year-end holidays, freegans held a lucky draw for discarded luxury items and electronics.

Filipina domestic workers react as Singaporean freegan Colin Lau reveals a Coach handbag during a free giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items at his house in Singapore November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Glendrose Gorriceta, a 45-year-old domestic worker from the Philippines, screamed triumphantly after receiving a Louis Vuitton handbag at her first giveaway.

Other secondhand items in the lucky draw included a Coach handbag and a set of Sony speakers, both in excellent condition.

Virginia Andrade, 52, said this year she was able to send home two television sets, a laptop for her son, and two wheelchairs for her mother and sister who are unable to walk after suffering strokes.

Filipina domestic worker Ruth Tolentino Funtecha uses her mobile phone during a giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items outside the house of Singaporean freegan Sarah Ng in Singapore November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

"Since I have started sending things back we don't have to buy clothes anymore and we use money for food and school fees instead," Andrade said.

"I've told my family that the items they receive are donated and some are from the dumpster. They are so thankful to Colin and his friends," she added.

Filipina domestic workers look through boxes during a giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items outside the house of Singaporean freegan Sarah Ng in Singapore November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

(Reporting and writing by Natashia Lee; Editing by Karishma Singh and Darren Schuettler)

Filipina domestic workers Lora Bravo, Virginia Andrade, and Gina Delos Santos load a taxi with bags of items they got for free, after a giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items at the house of Singaporean freegan Sarah Ng, in Singapore November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina administrator Myrna Cabrera puts clothes into a water kettle as she packs a box that will be shipped to typhoon victims in the Philippines, with donated and dumpster dived items at the house of freegan Cynthia Yap in Singapore November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina administrator Myrna Cabrera steps on items to compress them as she packs a box, that will be shipped to typhoon victims in the Philippines, with donated and dumpster dived items given to her for free at the house of freegan Cynthia Yap (R) in Singapore November 22, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina domestic workers Nanette Gumana and Hazyl Capalihan pack dumpster dived and donated items into a box that will be shipped to charities in the Philippines, at the house of Singaporean freegan Colin Lau in Singapore November 18, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina domestic worker Hazyl Capalihan tapes a note with the names of fellow domestic workers who packed donated and dumpster dived items into a box that will be shipped to charities in the Philippines, at the house of Singaporean freegan Colin Lau in Singapore November 18, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina domestic workers grab free items during a giveaway of donated and dumpster dived items at the house of Singaporean freegan Colin Lau in Singapore November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Freegan Daniel Tay looks at a water bottle while dumpster diving in Singapore November 17, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Freegan Pang Yun Ting and her neighbour Serene Ng laugh after they dropped free onions that suppliers rejected and gave to a food rescue group started by freegans, who dropped them off with Pang for distribution to residents in her neighbourhood, in Singapore November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Filipina domestic workers Helen Pendon and Loreta Flores send donated and dumpster dived items, which they got for free during a giveaway at the house of Singaporean freegan Colin Lau, to a shipping company to be delivered to the Philippines, in Singapore November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

A crucifix is seen next to a Louis Vuitton bag that was dumpster dived, according to Singaporean freegan Colin Lau, in his bedroom in Singapore November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Shopkeeper Yap Eng Yeow shines a light from his phone for freegan Nicos Theodoru as he helps to sort and cut rejected produce that shopkeepers gave to a food rescue group started by freegans, at Little India, in Singapore November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Freegans Andrew Kang and Ho Ying Ying pick up rejected produce, that suppliers gave them, after they fell off a trolley in the rain during a food rescue mission at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre in Singapore November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Jubilee, 3, holds one of three chicks that her mother Singaporean freegan Sarah Ng (C) says she rescued, as she poses for a photo at their house in Singapore November 11, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

A resident and her child choose free onions that suppliers rejected and gave to a food rescue group started by freegans, who dropped them off with freegan Pang Yun Ting for distribution to residents in her neighbourhood, in Singapore November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Freegan Ronald Lim takes a photo of resident volunteers after they filled up community fridges with rejected produce, that suppliers at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre gave to a food rescue group started by freegans, which residents can take for free, in Singapore November 12, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Produce, which was rejected by suppliers at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre and given to a food rescue group started by freegans, is distributed for free to residents by the charity Free Food For All, in Singapore November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee

Freegan Ng Lin-Di chooses vegetables from rejected produce that suppliers gave them, during a food rescue mission at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre in Singapore November 15, 2018. REUTERS/Natashia Lee