dumpster diving could get crowded tomarrow.

According to the article, the gentleman in question is not dumpster diving for scrap at all. See when scrappers dumpster dive we typically hit up residential complexes. This man is almost exclusively diving into the dumpsters of commercial retail dumpsters and finding "allegedly" brand new or returned/clearanced items that are still very functional or in need of minor refurbishing.

Later, in the dumpster at yet another Office Depot, Malone finds a brand-new office chair with a claim slip indicating that some parts are missing. When he returns to his office and looks up the serial number on the Internet, he will discover that the chair—which retails for $339—is only missing a pair of washers. “I’ll probably sell it on Amazon for half of what Office Depot charges,” he says, “but that’s still $170” for what he estimates to be a total of 20 minutes of work.

That's one example. However, I believe he is describing a time long past. Nearly every Retailer in Urban Florida, or at least Tampa, that I know of are using enclosed compactors. Not to mention he admits to trespassing, although not outright, in many of the enclosed fenced off dumpsters or those with no trespassing warnings. His rationale is:

Trespassing, however, is a different story. If you dig into a dumpster on private property—one that’s up against the side of a building, within a fenced enclosure, or marked “No Trespassing,” for example—you could get ticketed or even arrested. In Matt Malone’s experience this is uncommon: “I’ve never even had a cop ask me for ID.” Most police couldn’t care less about dumpster diving, Malone says, “though I have encountered a couple of cops who did care about what I was finding. I usually give them something, and it makes them really happy.” A few municipalities have passed ordinances against dumpster diving that have not yet been tested in federal court. Malone encourages divers to follow what he calls the Move Along Rule: If a store employee, security guard, or police officer tells you to “move along,” you should—without arguing or trying to explain the law to them. —R.S.

So in regards to the claim of his fortunes in dumpster diving, the dollar amount is very feasible, but he breaks the law many times that is typically ignored by many officers. Of course we can see how him giving the cops something to make them happy can easily be interpreted as a bribe.