WASHINGTON – Grocers in the Washington, DC-area may have more than rats to contend with in the dumpster areas.

The Washington Post reports that dumpster diving is growing popular among those who are taking the plunge into huge trash receptacles to fight food waste, while gorging on food “freebies” in the process.

How many dumpster divers are in the Washington area “is anybody’s guess,” notes the Post, but the ranks “appear to be growing.” Spokespersons from several area grocery stores say the sight of people behind the stores is becoming more common as they increase efforts to discourage the act.

“It's certainly something you hear about more and more,” Sarah Kenney, spokeswoman for the Whole Foods Market's mid-Atlantic region, told the Post, adding, “It seems like people tell their friends, and then there's an article about it and it grows.”

Grocery store spokespersons told the Post that the retail chains contribute to charities and participate in recycling programs as an incentive to keep divers out of trashcans and reduce liability. Because dumpster diving requires participants to trespass, divers are legally bound to accept a retailer’s refusal to allow them to dig through the trash.

Beyond liability, there is the issue of health and safety, as some products tossed out can be rather gnarly.

“We would not recommend removing Trader Joe's items from the dumpsters for the simple reason that these items have been evaluated by our crew as questionable to donate due to safety concerns,” company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki noted in a prepared statement.

“It makes me concerned about what type of food waste people are eating,” said Kenney, adding, “There's a popular misperception that stores are throwing away a lot of food.”

Meanwhile, one dumpster diver, Brian Kruglak, turned discarded food into a business. Three years ago he founded Food Not Bombs, which cooks meals prepared with his dumpster treasures for the homeless. The Post notes that the group only serves vegetarian meals “because members object to eating animals and because it can be difficult to tell when meat has gone bad.”