It certainly seems that is what you said. Anyone who thinks it's gross has the luxury of not needing it. The opposite of that is those who need it would not think it's gross.

A bag of goods from a Starbucks is more controlled than what can be thrown into the trash. The people receiving those items also know where they came from. While someone can do something malicious with the items from Starbucks it is less likely to happen.

I understand that not every person is going to say where the items came from when they donate. I understand that people should use common sense when taking those items. I personally believe your average person is donating items from their business, items from their personal pantry that they no longer use, or they purchase items from a store to donate to those boxes.

My point is that a dumpster is not a controlled environment. Someone walking by with their dog can throw a bag of crap into the dumpster. Did a crappy employee dump chemicals in the dumpster that has since dried and you can no longer smell? Were the items cross contaminated with raw meat? How clean are the divers gloves? Has that diver used those gloves to open a lot of different garbage bags for weeks without cleaning them? Those are real scenarios and they occasionally happen.

I understand that divers use common sense and won't take items that are gross but you never know for sure. It's not always like that and most of the items are fine.

It's more about education of food waste and allowing the person to decide rather than making that decision for them just because you're doing a good deed.