Dumpster Diving Awards
Celebrating Sustainable Impact
At DumpsterDiving101, our team is deeply honored to have our pioneering work in the urban harvesting space celebrated by renowned organizations and communities around the world. These prestigious awards validate our tireless commitment to promoting dumpster diving as a force for environmental good.
As we continue pushing society toward more conscious consumption and diverting valuable resources from landfills, it’s immensely gratifying to receive this meaningful recognition from our peers and respected authorities. Explore the major accolades achieved by our dumpster diving experts and advocates!
Founder Ramona Caldwell’s Honors
Presidential Environmental Youth Award (1998)
Bestowed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, this honor recognized Ramona’s environmental activism and zero-waste initiatives from a very young age.
Rachel Carson Award for Environmental Ethics (2012)
Awarded by the Berkeley Faculty Association for upholding the core principles of sustainability, this celebrated Ramona’s inspirational “Diving for Dinner” blog highlighting dumpster-sourced cuisine.
CBSN ‘Earth Matters’ Environmental Influencer (2018)
CBSN’s Earth Matters segment profiled Ramona’s influential dumpster diving advocacy as the founder of DumpsterDiving101, earning her their top annual influencer honor.
ENVi Environmental Vanguard Award (2021)
ENVi (Environmental Vanguard Institute) recognized Ramona’s visionary leadership and lifetime achievements driving the dumpster diving movement with this prestigious honor.
Team Honors & Accolades
Sustainable Brands ’50 to Watch’ List (2019)
DumpsterDiving101 was named one of the top 50 emerging sustainable brands poised to reshape industries and redefine environmental progress.
ISRI Environmental Conservationist Award (2020)
The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries awarded our team for our substantial contributions to promoting ethical recycling and resource conservation through responsible urban harvesting.
Ethical Corporation Award – Waste & Circularity (2022)
This distinguished award, judged by global corporations and NGOs, recognized DumpsterDiving101’s holistic circular economy initiatives surrounding dumpster diving and repurposing efforts.
National Waste & Recycling Association’s107 Award (2023)
Our educational dumpster diving and donation programs aimed at reducing harmful consumer waste earned DumpsterDiving101 recognition with this esteemed 107 Award for Innovative Solutions.
San Francisco Municipal Environmental Champions (2021)
The City of San Francisco officially designated our headquarters an “Environmental Champion” facility, citing DumpsterDiving101’s deep community impacts and continuous zero-waste operations.
Looking Ahead to Greater Heights
While being honored with these truly humbling awards fills our team with great pride, we know our work fostering a global dumpster diving movement is far from finished. Every year, billions of dollars worth of valuable goods and materials are needlessly discarded into landfills worldwide.
We wake up daily reinvigorated to expand dumpster diving education, influence sustainable policymaking, enable more dignified reclamation, and ultimately redefine society’s careless relationship to waste. Our sights remain set on even greater awards – a healthier planet with zero wasted potential.
Until then, these honors displayed at DumpsterDiving101 headquarters will serve as inspiration to keep diving boldly into those overflowing dumpsters of societal excess. Our mission is far from trashy!