PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — On a quiet night along Gatlin Blvd, a car pulls up behind Aldi supermarket. The sound of shifting cardboard breaks the silence as a local resident rummages through a dumpster searching not for trash, but for treasure.

Dumpster diving, the practice of salvaging discarded items from commercial trash bins, is gaining traction in Port St. Lucie as inflation and cost of living concerns push residents to look for creative ways to get food and supplies.

“You’d be shocked at what stores throw out,” said the 65-year-old retired woman who identified herself only as Rose. “I share the stuff that I get with my neighbor because I can’t eat it all by myself.”

Rose sits in the car and waits for her husband to retrieve the items from the dumpster. He comes back smiling with two l

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