Dumpster Diving Makes a Splash

Imagine a summer Brooklyn day, where the last place anyone wants to be is waiting for the subway in the midst of a never ending heat wave.

But then, in between the tall buildings, sits a number of dumpsters filled with refreshing cold water, full of smiling faces and surrounded by beach lounge chairs.

Back in 2009, this was a common Brooklyn sighting, as the company Macro Sea transformed underutilized urban spaces into "lo-fi" country clubs. They created swimming pools out of dumpsters and built in a bocce ball court to give off that country club vibe.

Locals loved the idea of transforming such an unlikely space into an almost secretive party spot.

From its debut in 2009, Macro Sea developed the dumpster swimming pool even more in the past few years.  In the summer of 2010, the company received an invitation from the New York City's Mayor's Office and the Department of Transportation to participate in the city's third annual Summer Streets event.  The pool made its debut in a big way, right in front of Grand Central Station.

By this time, Macro Sea had spent more time on creating a design of a mobile dumpster pool that could easily be transported, dropped off onto the street from a truck and filled with water. Going forward the company hopes to make these mobile pools easily deployable and accessible to more people.

As the website states, "Now that we’ve made code-compliant, street-legal dumpster pools, Macro Sea is working to create cost-effective ways to bring pop-up pools to municipalities nationwide."

Expanding Dumpster Pools to the Home

The idea of a mobile pool isn't exactly a new concept.

In the summer of 1987, Brooklyn had an unlikely visit from a tractor-trailer carting an 800 gallon swimming pool. The vehicle, called the Swim Mobile, was one of two Departments of Parks and Recreation Vehicles that made stops throughout Brooklyn and Queens.

From there, Macro Sea credits a Georgia man who created his own personal dumpster pool with their inspiration for popularizing the city set up.

While Macro Sea might be too busy to carry on the trend, it's no reason for the rest of the nation to stop caring about sustainable swimming.

In fact a New Orleans man, Stefan Beese, converted a 22-foot-long, 7-foot-wide steel dumpster into a backyard swimming oasis. 

He took a 30-cubic-yard dumpster, added some insulation on the bottom of the container and installed some wooden paneling to make an elegant design. In fact, most people wouldn't even realize that the pool was once a trash receptacle.

Beese said his project cost him between $5000 and $7000 but could have been less if he did more of the work himself.  A used container in good condition can cost someone between $1500 and $2500.

While a typical pool can cost tens of thousands of dollars, with rising maintenance costs, a dumpster pool cuts costs and makes for a sustainable relaxation spot. 

Only time will tell if this dumpster pool trend lives on, but Macro Sea might be too busy to stick around for the future of its design. The company is currently transforming the Brooklyn Navy Yards into a futuristic manufacturing warehouse, which will produce high-tech products, like robotic lamps.

In the meantime, I'll be busy developing my personal mini dumpster hot tub for the cold winter months. 

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