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In general there isn't much money to be made dumpster diving/garbage picking, but I did it part time for about 7 months in 2012. Still do it very occasionally but I'm usually too busy with work.
A lot of the big chain stores have compactors now and everything gets destroyed. At least in the South East U.S. where I live. It's shameful what people will throw away
However, I was able to pull in upwards of $8,000 in those 7 months picking scrap metal--and more importantly--returned/damaged/surplus stuff in store dumpsters. This is a real figure and very doable with only a few hours actual investment each week. $200 a week for 5-7 hours a week is nothing to scoff at.
Before Home Depot started locking their dumpsters here I would have my wife drop me off and I'd hop in and start loading up. 10 minutes later she'd come back around and I'd put the stuff in the truck. Broken buckets and shit like that mostly, but also a surprising number of decent/slightly fucked up tools, garden equipment etc. I got my Dewalt 20v impact wrench and battery from that dumpster and all it needed was a new direction selector ($7 on eBay) and a small bungee to hold the battery with a broken tab in place. I'm a mechanic and a find like that saves me so much time and, consequently, money in the long run.
I sold everything I possibly could sell on Craigslist and eBay and threw the rest in a scrap metal pile for the end of the month.
I put $3,800 in my daughters' college/future fund and another several thousand in acreage near my parent's land, so while I didn't care much when I started what people thought about seeing me in the dumpster, I sure as fuck don't care now. You people mean nothing to me and have zero value or utility to me in any meaningful capacity. Fuck off.
