Homelessness is a global issue that governments of different countries fail to address. In the United States alone, there are an estimated 553,742 (and counting) people, out on the streets, experiencing homelessness on any given night, as reported by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. According to the report, about 34 percent of those homeless people live in a place not meant for human habitation, which usually means on the streets or in abandoned buildings. For the most part, various government projects aim to address the problem of homelessness by providing temporary shelters.

But because this issue is persistent in today's society, even private individuals and regular people are coming up with ways to solve the homelessness problem. Aside from making housing programs easier on the pocket and more accessible to those who are struggling, people are also cooking up great ideas on alternative living. Such ideas include converting or upcycling Dumpsters and making them an actual, livable space. Here are some examples of upcycled dumpsters that have become home to some individuals.

1. Professor Dumpster in Austin, Texas

Jeff Wilson is a dean and professor at the Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, Texas, where back in 2014, he decided to convert an old dumpster into an actual home.

He would go on to live in this home for a year. Wilson, who teaches environmental studies, told MSNBC that the idea came about while thinking of a more engaging way of disseminating his research. The project was then born and he committed to living in a dumpster for a year because, he said, he "wanted to look at consuming and owning less stuff, what that could do in terms of your own sense of happiness." Some good did come out of his experience of living in a dumpster for a year, as he is now the co-founder of the startup company Kasita, which aims to build stackable smart homes that save space but are fully functional.

2. Designer Gregory Kloehn's dumpster home in Brooklyn, New York

Artist and designer Gregory Kloehn's creativity led him to create an actual home out of a dumpster. His Brooklyn, New York dumpster features a propane tank-powered burner, a sink with running water, and even a toilet that originally came from a boat and that can be hooked up to a septic tank.

Kloehn's projects involve upcycling old items such as refrigerator doors, futon frames, and other things to create actual livable homes, The Weather Channel reported. Kloehn told AP that his dumpster home "would kinda be in this grey zone of legal housing, illegal housing."

3. Shane Duffy and Phil Sullivan's Soho, NYC dumpster

Models Shane Duffy and Phil Sullivan created a home out of a dumpster after they themselves experienced homelessness on the street, the New York City Post reported. The dumpster, which reportedly cost $1,500 to build, features solar panels, LED lighting, and a charging station. Pretty sweet for a dumpster home!
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