Dumpsters

Searching a red dumpster in GTA Chinatown Wars.

Dumpsters are large bins used for storing waste and garage. Dumpsters have appeared in all Grand Theft Auto games, but only in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars have they had an actual intended use.

GTA Liberty City Stories

In GTA Liberty City Stories, dumpsters are integral to the Trash Dash side-mission, which involves the Trashmaster garbage truck. Players must stop close to a number of dumpsters, which are colored dark green, within an allocated time in order to acquire more time and inch closer to completing the side mission.

GTA Chinatown Wars

In Chinatown Wars, the player can go up to a red or green dumpster to search it, in other words, conduct dumpster diving.

A minigame will start in which the player removes trash bags from the dumpster to find items. In the DS version, the game utilizes the touchscreen to remove the trash bags and collect the item. The touchscreen is replaced by button presses in the PSP version. Green dumpsters contain a number of items, whilst red dumpsters contain weapons hidden by the Triads. Once a dumpster has been searched, the player can come back to it some time later to search it again. While removing trash bags, cockroaches emerge. The player can squish these with the stylus; the number of cockroaches squished is measured in the game statistics.

Dumpster types

Green dumpster

These dumpsters contain an odd assortment of items, many of which do nothing:

  • Hotdog: Restores the players health to full.
  • Hamburger: Restores the players health to full.
  • Moldy Hotdog: The player can eat it, but it does nothing.
  • Moldy Hamburger: The player can eat it, but it does nothing.
  • $10 Note: Gives the player $10.
  • Dildo: Does nothing.
  • Boot: Does nothing.
  • Fish: Does nothing.
  • Condom: Does nothing.
  • Drugs: Although very rare, small packages of drugs can sometimes be found.

Red dumpsters

These dumpsters contain weapons that the Triads store around the city for emergencies. The following weapons can be found inside: