Dunkin Donuts used to give their leftover doughnuts away at midnight. When they changed their policy I started waiting near the rear of the building until they put them in the dumpster. They were right on top and no trouble to pick out. When I brought the first batch home, my kids had mixed reactions. My oldest daughter, who was about ten at the time, tried to yell at me, "Don't ever do that again." Her voice was muffled because it was so full that doughnut crumbs sprayed out of her mouth and onto the kitchen floor. She didn't complain after that.
Yes I got into the habit of 'binning ' many years ago usually in the evenings for something to do. Found lots of good stuff. Most interesting find was a small nicely crafted wooden box with a navigational instrument inside. A metal plate on the box: RMS Titanic 1912. Holy cow! Took it to an antique auction place , they examined it and said "sorry sir this is just a replica ". Aww... I donated it to the thrift that I had visited frequently - they sold it for $30.00. Anyway best time to go binning is around the end of the month when people might be moving and throwing away a lot of good stuff.
That was a neat find. I live in an apartment complex and people sometimes get evicted. When their things get set out and are there all day, the other residents go through it. I've done it once or twice, but never really found anything. It's not put in the dumpster though, just set out by the building. The apartment calls a special trash remover for things like that.