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Members Of This Online Group Shared 29 Things They Found In People’s Trash That Were Either Illegal, Strange Or Actually Valuable
They say that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Whoever they are. Probably people who find a lot of someone else’s trash that they find great value in. Or mayhaps it’s one man’s trash that becomes the key to another man’s treasure? Nothing like a philosophical red herring to sidetrack you on this fine day.
Anywho, trash! Um, no, treasure! Well, um, both. Folks online were talking about both. Specifically here. Specifically this: What’s the most illegal, strange or valuable thing you have seen while gathering people’s trash? Specifically, scroll below to find the best responses to this question.
More Info: Reddit
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#1
I did junk removal for a while and we used to clean out estates of people who died. You can find some nice records or old furnitures that would end up be worth lots of money.
One day, after a third week straight of cleaning out estates of the deceased, my coworker and I stood still in this old woman's living room, and kinda just stopped. We realized the value of someone after they pass, or rather, the lack thereof. Here we are throwing out photo albums, books, journals, note cards: all things that were once valuable to somebody. But now they are just being chucked to a garbage truck without any thought.
All those things that a person has spent their lifetime accumulate, ended up meaning nothing. Often the children come and sort out some stuff, but most of the time it's just "get rid of everything". It made me realize that accumulating material goods is really a futile way of living. You can't take it to the grave (most of the time), and it just end up in a line fill. Jabronis like us would try to make a buck out of the candle sticks that you so adored and thought your children would definitely take. It is morbid to think that we are just literally throwing away someone's life and memory.
I don't know, just something to think about. Collect experiences, as those can not be taken by anyone. If the choice is between that nice watch and a weekend trip to Mexico, probably choose the latter.
harpling 3 years ago
I've been fighting a tendency to hoarding for most of my life, and this is one of the things I try to remind myself of. "Don't keep it; you're never going to need it. Don't buy it; you're never going to use it."
Tess 3 years ago
I don't think that it's fair to judge someone's entire life as being futile because they owned possessions. You didn't know them, nor is it your place to be so disrespectful. They may very well have had many experiences throughout their life, did you ever look through the photo albums. Just because their family doesn't care about the items they treasured so much, doesn't make them any less important. You may well be throwing away their things, it doesn't mean that you've erased their entire existence from this world.
steven mayes 3 years ago
Just because it has no value to the writer or anybody else doesn't mean these articles didn't mean the world to the deceased. One of the most negative articles I've read on this excellent site.
Tess 3 years ago
It literally gave me chills to read how little they care about another person's existence.
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$cagsy 3 years ago
I agree in the main. Humans are very temporary. But when I got my first paycheck aged 16, I ran out and spent it all on the nicest watch that I could afford. I still treasure that watch today and every time I look at it, I am reminded of my younger self carrying so much hope and ambition for the future. You might be able to buy a watch, but you can't buy that feeling anywhere.
Choco 3 years ago
Buying or receiving/having tuff you like is still a experience, and it doesn't matter if you take it to the grave, you won't take any of your memories either, do what you like and know will make you happy :) no matter if it ends up in a bin
Kristina N 3 years ago
Yes! Thank you! So what if I have 25 seascape paintings? They make me happy to look at them now. I don't care if no one wants them after I'm gone.
Load More Replies... Shane S 3 years ago
A bit quick to judge. A person may have agoraphobia or get carsick or have flight anxiety. Let people do what they want to carve a little happiness out of this life. I know people that really value a huge, expensive house because it’s what’s important to them. And I know others that are happy to live in a tiny apartment because having the money to travel is more important. Everyone’s values are different. Don’t impose yours on someone else.
Headless Roach 3 years ago
Although in a slightly different context, it reminds me so much of “What kind of dining set defines me as a person?”
Shyla Bouche 3 years ago
What kind of dining set defines you as a headless roach?
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Mary Daniel 3 years ago
Yes, I am trying to liquidate my possessions so my children aren't left with that task when I die
M Calad 3 years ago
A friend of mine in her 60's had this exact revelation during a week cleaning her in-law's house after they died. She and her husband decided to get rid of stuff they had accumulated that did not add value to them. They gave away tons of nice things to their children, family and friends. My friend then got rid of the things no one took in a beautiful ritual saying thank you and good-bye. They sold the house and moved to a beautiful apartment taking with them only what was important. She said she wanted to make her children's life easier after they died.
RELATED:
#2
Not a garbage man, but I do know that garbage men regularly solve crimes. A couple weeks back, a restaurant that I used to work at was robbed of a large amount of cash. 3 young gentlemen went in just before closing and hid in the bathroom, came out after the doors were locked and it was just the manager, bartender, and owner. 3 middle aged women. They took the bartender and manager downstairs to the office, where the owner was with the open safe. Put them all on the floor, robbed the safe, and bounced. In the safe was cash, rolled coin, and a gun safe with a pistol. They took everything. Unable to open the gun safe, they took a cutting wheel and torch to it, got it open, discarded the gun safe. Genius put it in his trash barrel, wheels it out to the curb. Trash man finds it the next day, the resident is arrested. Gives up the other 2 suspects. What a squad of geniuses. They would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for that meddling garbage man. And ignorance.
#3
growing up, our garbage man would always stop to say what's up while we were outside playing. he was friends with my dad so it wasn't weird or anything. we called him Jon the Prophet bc he was always dropping wise phrases on us. we later found out these were just song lyrics (for example: carry on my wayward son, there will be peace when you are done)...anyway, he was always bringing us cool stuff he found - bikes, mp3 players, etc. fast forward 10 yrs or so & I'm living in this house w 4 of my buddies. Jon the Prophet is still our garbage man.. one time after Christmas, he brings us a brand new xbox360 still in the box. he said he found it on his route & his kids already had one. coolest guy ever. I still consider him a close friend.
Best part about that 360 - I was volunteering at an after school program back then, & shortly after this one of my kids came in bitching that his dad tossed his new xbox bc he & his brothers were fighting over it.
Federico Guerrero-Isaza 3 years ago
Not sure why they downvoted you. Have an upvote instead.
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Zedrapazia 3 years ago
Props to the garbage man, but a big no from me for the guy who threw his kids new Xbox out because they couldn't agree who would play. Sounds like an awful father.
Chloe Hagoort 3 years ago
What game is that? It looks like Skyrim elder scrolls 6, but he has a gun...
#4
My 86 year old mother lives in a fairly affluent suburb of San Francisco, and every week on Sunday she does her 'run', which consists of going to the local grocery store and BART station to find valuable things.
She picks up BART tickets that still have value that people just drop near the gates. She aggregates them into larger tickets, and then provides them at a very discounted rate to a women's shelter which uses them for their clients.
She picks up cans and bottles to turn them in for the deposit. Even fishes them out of garbage cans if they are close to the top. She also finds a lot of money.
But Mom walks with a pronounced limp, she doesn't dress fancy, and she is very stooped over due to osteoporosis.
People assume she is destitute and homeless, and offer her help, or they drop money when she is close by and walk away for her to 'find' it. Little do they know she owns a home worth over a million dollars free and clear and does not need to do this, she is doing quite well financially. It's mostly exercise for her. Anything she gets she puts into her political fund, which she donates to Democratic candidates.
UpQuarkDownQuark 3 years ago
I loved riding the BART when I lived there in the 80s. I never ceased to be amazed that I was in a small tunnel in a train going 70mph under the San Francisco Bay.
Also Anonymous 3 years ago
Why the nonsensical reference to politics at the end? It added no value.
Sue Denham 3 years ago
I love that she is helping people and I love that others think they are helping her. Kindness matters so much.
karen snyder 3 years ago
This story has to be at least 7 years old. BART phased out paper tickets completely in 2015 and stopped allowing consolidation of low value tickets 20 years ago, unless you physically went to the offices in Oakland.
#5
My father in law is a bin man here in Northern Ireland. He is forever bringing home stuff he finds on his rounds, most recently a Tag Heuer watch and more iPhones than you could shake a stick at
Guy even has a huge jar filled with coins he finds - all the guys he work with dump any loose change or notes they come across into it throughout the year and they split it between them at Christmas
Honu 3 years ago
Though I wouldn't be surprised if some of the stuff like watches and phones ended up in the trash by accident. I almost lost a fairly expensive ring that way when I left it on my desk and my cat decided it was a shiny toy. He knocked it into the trash can. I happened to notice a rattling sound when I went to empty it so I found it before it ended up in the landfill.
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Garry Cowan 3 years ago
I too work in a waste treatment plant and find around £20 a month in loose change it's not a lot but definitely better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick
Scooter 3 years ago
It's an expression. There are so many of them you would wear yourself out if you did so.
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Not a garbage man but I used to do security at a wealthy apartment complex. I started to go through the trash after I found an oven that worked. Ladies would throw away $100 $200 brand new purses. Gucci, Prada, Armani glasses just because they had tiny tiny scratches on them. This one art teacher would throw away art supplies. Food that was months away from its expiration date. Brand new clothes with the tags still attached. I was literally finding free money.
Monika 3 years ago
This is depressing. While people in poverty-stricken neighborhoods can barely afford to waste old stuff, these people can just throw away $1000 purses...what a world we live in.
Robert B 3 years ago
I don’t know how my parents managed to get this lesson in my brother’s and my heads, but when we were done with something, it was past the end of its life. Bikes, clothes, shoes, and a couple cars; we would wear things out to the point that they literally fell apart. My parents were broke, and dad could repair and rebuild most things, so we learned and we did just fine. You don’t have to have the newest most expensive anything, and I’ve told many a person that they were stupid for playing keep up and being proud of it.
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Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
This is why people Dumpster Dive. The waste is unbelievable and many divers donate the majority of what they find. I once stopped at a CVS dumpster to throw out the trash in my car (traveling). I found envelopes and cards for every occasion STILL IN MFG PACKAGING! Never unpacked. Found HBA items (soap, shampoo, deodorant, etc) unopened, just tossed away. Even diapers. Took what I could, kept a few things, but donated 90% to a shelter. Boggles the mind!
IamMe 3 years ago
I've learned that a good way to get quality furniture and stuff is to know the trash days of upper class neighborhoods. They remodel and redecorate a lot more than most people, and will throw out perfectly good stuff, simply because it doesn't go with the look their going for that season.
Mars Martin 3 years ago
Trash picking is an art form. Best all time pick...Remember the bright colored fiberglass and chrome chairs from the 1950's? They stack. I live in a rural area. I saw 4 of them next to the trash cans at the end of a driveway. I have an SUV. I pulled over and loaded them. Their wholesale value was $500. I sold them the next day. IamMe, I completely agree with your post. You do find great stuff on the curb of well to do areas. This was in farm land. I was on my way to the grocery store.
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liam newton-harding 3 years ago
I wish I could remember the actual article, but it was an interview with a group of Garbage Workers, who had routes in the Hamptons. The stuff they picked up...wardrobes of clothes, entire furniture sets, electronics, luggage...as the second, and third wives changed decor with the Seasons.
pocwaddler 3 years ago
I was crew on a Grand Canyon river trip once that was chartered by this big obnoxious entitled family. The last night we told them that the next day there were a lot of rapids and to wear their same clothes they'd been wearing for the whole trip. The next morning they all step onto the boat in their fancy clothes like they were going to walk across the boat and step into a casino in Las Vegas. Of course the boatman stuffed them into every rapid he could and they were all soaked and bedraggled; probably lost a good tip but it was worth it. When we were cleaning up after the trip, we found they'd taken all their expensive outdoor clothes, Patagonia, North Face, and so on, and thrown them in the trash. Free stuff, barely used.
#7
I chucked a tv/vcr combo unit out. About 11pm the doorbell goes and I'm greeted by a man asking about the remote control for it.
Cheeky bastard
Beck 3 years ago
I got a new washer and dryer and put the old ones at the curb. I wrote what was wrong in marker on the front of one and wrote works on the other. That way whoever decided to grab them know what was wrong.
Pizzagirl 91 3 years ago
I'd do the same thing. It's totally normal, though illegal and not "nice" in Germany (at least in the North where I live) to pick up things people left on the curb to be picked up by the public services. There's often very nice things when people moved and couldn't be bothered to sell the things they don't want to take, but, for example, when we finally get rid of our twin baby stroller, I wouldn't wish the braking issues and the screwed wheel on my worst enemy...
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Christof Irran 3 years ago
I found a VCR sitting on top of the dumpster here in Seattle. It was the night of the Rodney King riots, so at first I though it was looted, and then dumped during a police pursuit. Nah, who would loot an old VCR? It did years of service in my house before it died of old age. Should have hung bills on phone poles: "Missing! Remote for looted VCR. Pls call 206-xxx-xxxx."
#8
When former Football player Ricky Williams briefly retired to become a spiritual guru in the hills he moved into a place that was on my recycling route. I noticed a box he tossed once and grabbed it to see if there was any memorabilia or football items related in it. It looked important. What was in it was team doctors papers, contracts and just about all the personal information that one would need to actually become Ricky Williams.
I felt weird that this was out there, so I took it home and burned every piece of it in the fireplace. Felt guilty even looking at it as I tossed it.
3 Owls In A Coat 3 years ago
Seriously, this is incredibly thoughtful and kind
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Tim Douglass 3 years ago
Not real surprising that Ricky was a bit lax about such things. Wasn't he the guy who allegedly said after failing a drug test "I got high and forgot I wasn't supposed to get high."
#9
I like to go dumpster diving after the college kids move out of my town and they throw out EVERYTHING because daddy's credit card will buy all new stuff next semester. I have found brand new luggage, leather furniture, and once, a suitcase full of rolls of quarters. These kids are total spoiled brats.
Mary Hiers 3 years ago
My parents used to live in a condo near an expensive private university. They said every May when the rich kids moved back home the dumpsters were absolute treasure chests of perfectly nice things. They found all kinds of appliances, electronics, etc. Found me a nice pair of rain boots that way. It's sad when you think about it.
Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
HS BFF went to a major Texas college about 2 hours away. Half way through finals week she had me come up. The things we found were astonishing. More clothes than you can imagine, especially expensive women's shoes & purses; lamps, bedding sets, jewelry (good costume), unopened office supplies.... For a poor student, it was a bonanza!
Carla Phillips 3 years ago
Same! The police like to get big about it where I live and stop people because it's technically illegal to get stuff from the trash
Mary Kelly 3 years ago
went to grad school at an expensive university...used to looooooove the end of spring semester...most of us poor grad students did...these rich kids would throw out some much barely used or unused stuff...small appliances b/c daddy or mommy would just a new coffee pot/lamp/toaster oven/rug/etc. when they went back to school in the fall...
pocwaddler 3 years ago
I found a really nice sofa and chair in a dumpster at the end of the school year at a university. Sold the sofa and still have the chair.
#10
This was in the early 90's. I was emptying the public trash cans in a city centre in mid England. I saw this really expensive bound leather photograph holder book. I took it lobbed it in the cab to check out later.
After work I started looking through it and it started with these fresh faced young soldiers laughing and gurning at the camera. They were doing their training I think in some leafy camp in England. Then it switched to a f**k hole awful desert - it was the time of Gulf War I. The smiles went and then the carnage came. Busted tanks, cars and people. Fires, death and destruction. Almost unrecognizable burnt bodies. Just horrible, horrible s**t.
Then I stopped looking and threw it away as the owner had intended. I often wonder who threw that away, I hope it was the soldier trying to forget rather than one of his grieving relatives. That was more than 20 years ago but I think of that poor boy a lot.
Mam cymraeg 3 years ago
Should have given it to a careers office . As good a career as sone make through the forces they often don't think about the mental let alone physical ramifications. A family member of mine was in the RAF thankfully in mostly peaceful times and finished due to a peace time accident he won't talk about the time.
3 Owls In A Coat 3 years ago
I would never have thrown this away, as hard as it is to look at. This is important stuff for us humans to remember.
BasedWang12.7 3 years ago
I woulda been too curious and subjected myself to the torture of finishing the book
Lara Harris 3 years ago
"Trash cans" "cab" "unrecognizable" I'm going to say this story is made up.
#11
Finally my time to shine. I worked as sort of a secondary garbage man (I was on the truck when they needed an extra hand or the main guy was sick) and from the short time I have a list of the things I found. And some of the more valuable things the other guys acquired. Mind you this is from a small Canadian town.
- A working PS3.
- A working iphone 4, (this was before the 5 was introduced)
- 2 laptop computers. (Monitors were broken, and nothing else)
- Multiple desktop PCs.
- An fm transmitter.
- Every tool you would ever need.
- An n64 with a few games.
- 5 bottles of unopened hard liquor.
- All sorts of hunting equipment.
- And furniture. Lots of good furniture that I ended up refurbishing and selling.
A lot of what I found was technology, simply because I had an eye for it.
The main garbage man had a room in his house dedicated to the things he found.
From $400 snowboards to full toolboxes and audio systems. And the truck driver made about an extra $500 every two months from recycling cans people would throw out.
I also stumbled across a $100 bill once at the landfill.
Shyla Bouche 3 years ago
You just want to knock over the garbage cans to mess with the hoomans. *puts on her pouncing mittens* Let's go!
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Jesus Ortiz 3 years ago
I work as a caretaker for a parking garage that's connected to Hamptons Inn, and several higher end restaurants/businesses. I often find random stuff that people throw out. I don't drink, yet I have found unopened 30 can packs of hard seltzer, bud lights, Coors, and a bottle of Brandy. I also find lots of loose change ($30 in pennys, nickles, and dimes just in 2022), a giant lawn chair one time, a super nice wool coat, multipacks of water bittles, , A coworker of mine is at a parking garage connected to a higher end condominium, he gets the best stuff. Last year he found a $100 bill on the ground! This year he found a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 in the trash. He bought a charger, and is using it, after verifying with the previous owner.
Fish Fingers 3 years ago
I was on the recycling lorries once for a few months, found all sorts of stuff. Not the most valuable or interesting, but I still wonder why someone threw out an unopened crate of beers 🤔
#12
This was in the 90s... my friend's dad found a big sack full of arcade tokens. Not sure how it is now, but back then the tokens were mostly standardized. My friend was in heaven.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
Arcade tokens were (in the US, at least) the same size as a US quarter, but made of aluminum instead of nickel. They would work in the arcade machines, but not the more sophisticated coin mechanisms of vending machines or other coin-op hardware.
CherylH 3 years ago
I'm thinking OP meant the tokens worked at any arcade not that they could be used as quarters in machines
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rodger coghlan 3 years ago
There was a time in the early 1980s when it seemed like all the quarters disappeared - they were finally found in all the game emporiums, hence the tokens
#13
I found a unicycle once. Pumped up the tired, cleaned it up, fell off and sold it. That thing was hard to ride.
Alleman Jennifer 3 years ago
My boys used the pandemic to learn to ride a uni. Now we have three. We got them all from a guy who found a uni, cleaned it up, fell off and sold it. I tried it once myself. That thing was hard to ride. Big wheel keeps on turning.
TheElderNom 3 years ago
A class mate in 4-6th grade biked on one of those all the way from our village to the nearest town, 15 kilometres.
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
There was a guy at my high school who rode a unicycle as well as doing other circus skills. I think that's why our end of year concert one year was circus related, so he could show off his skills. All I performed was a ribbon dance with 3 of my friends. Not quite the same level of cool :)
#14
I'm really late to this party but I'll go ahead anyway. I work in the office a company that collects garbage. I got a call from a customer and she stated that every time they bring their bin back up from the street, something on it burns their skin. I called the operations manager who went out to check it out with the environmental officer. Turns out the next door neighbor had a substance lab and was disposing of toxic chemicals in his bin and there was some transfer.
Jordi Sharpe 3 years ago
Dr Albert Hoffmann, whose first trip was triggered by inadvertent skin contact with a small dose.
Load More Replies... #15
While working in a landfill, colleague found a briefcase full of nicely arranged gemstone. Ended up getting about 10k for it
#16
My grandfather used to work at the dump. My family called it the road 120 hardware store. He brought everything home. Tools galore, all kinds of metal for recycling, furnature, decorative odds and ends. He built my sister and I a playhouse outside that was entirely furnished with people's junk. Child sized table and chairs, a tiny TV and radio, loads of toys that just needed a little scrubbing. My grandparents had a yearly garage sale with all the findings they didn't want and made hundreds of dollars selling people their own fat a**es back to them.
Sunny Day 3 years ago
Friend likes to dumpster dive behind stores. He looks for things he feels could be used. Once he found several sealed boxes of the take-away utensils (knife, fork, spoon, napkin, salt & pepper packets in individual sealed plastic). He took them to the local homeless shelter. Why would someone throw them away?
Huddo's sister 3 years ago
My local tip has a 'tip shop' for that kind of stuff, so they can raise more funds to recycle the stuff that's not good enough to sell.
#17
A friend whose dad was a garbageman (distant I know but still) once told me he found an engagement ring and a pack of condoms in a small disposable bag, he always wanted to know the story behind it.
Dave Morris 3 years ago
I had a skip once on my drive for building work, and one morning came down to find a bunch of new stuff (plates, food mixer, home-making stuff basically) and a door lock and some engagement cards in it. A similar story there methinks...
#18
Buddy of mine used to work at the local dump here in CA. He was graveyard so anything cool he saw during his shift he'd snag. The sheer number of flat screen TVs this guy had was f*****g staggering. He'd sell me a STACK of laptops a week for $20 which I'd then refurbish and make 20-100 times my money back.
#19
Two Egyptian Papyrus paintings, framed.
3 Mountain bikes- one had a loose rear axle (tightened the nut, had it fixed in seconds) the others had flat tires.
12 working VCRs. (This was in 2002- I still have 8 of them.)
An entire box of new-in-wrapper embossed steel Rolling Rock Beer signs. Sold them on Ebay for over $300.
I think the most useful thing I found was a 15-foot logging chain. It must have weighed 40 pounds, and I use it on my tractor.
3 Owls In A Coat 3 years ago
Honestly I would kill for a VCR in this day and age
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Steve Hayward 3 years ago
If that was your favourite, can I have the Egyptian papyrus paintings, plzzz!! 😜😜😂
#20
Not a garbage man, but my buddy curb surfed a neighbor's place while moving out and found a huge box of baseball cards. For those who don't know, most baseball cards made between 1980 and 1995 are completely worthless, but I collect and it was a nice gesture. I dug though about half of them one night and found literally nothing of value of any more than 10 cents or so. The next night i was trying to avoid work and decided to continue on my exercise in futility. At the bottom of the box I notices some cards that looked "different" on their sides. Somehow, some real vintage desirable cards had found their way. Among the, a complete set of 1957 Elvis Cards, a complete 1950s Topps western set, a large group of 1954 Bowman football cards with hall of famers and a 1958 near complete set of Topps cards with Jim Brown Rookie. In all, easily worth $1000=$1500 or so.
LynzCatastrophe 3 years ago
It wasn't garbage but I was browsing garage sales one weekend back as a teenager. It was summer and I was looking for books to read. One day I found a box that said Archie Comics, 50 cents each. I couldn't decide which ones I wanted and this middle age woman was trying to get rid of them so she sold me the entire box for a dollar, I think it contained 50 comics, score! And mostly old ones which were my preferences. One of them was Betty and Veronica, issue 1. I already had Archie number 1 from my mom's old collection, the two are now sitting in a safe. I plan to go through my entire collection in the future. I still have them.
MeMosabe 3 years ago
"most baseball cards made between 1980 and 1995 are completely worthless" Yeah. In 1990 I decided I would test the baseball card market and bought all I could and just stored them way. I am otherwise uninterested in sports, generally. Sure enough, 30 years later, they're sill worthless. Maybe someday... :D
#21
It's always sad to see wedding albums get the toss. My buddy has a quite promising collection of really odd photos going. Animal heads are always a shock. I found a call girls diary once.
Grant Barke 3 years ago
You call the girl, she comes. And then you come, you pay her.
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Nicky Hands 3 years ago
If it was my diary from when I was a child it would have made the person reading it cry!
#22
My brother in law was working in a depot when a cardboard box rolled off one of the piles, onto the floor. When he kicked it, it was heavy, and the box looked as if it hadn't been opened. He grabbed it and tossed it in his truck. Got home and opened it -- it was a brand new laptop, probably worth $2k.
The theory was that someone who worked at a computer store likely tossed it in the dumpster to fetch it later, but the truck got there before them.
They've still got it and use it daily. :)
Shyla Bouche 3 years ago
Just because you're a kitten doesn't mean you have enough energy to pounce everywhere. *washes her head and curls up on the nearest hooman for a nap*
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#23
A friend of mine worked for garbage collecting and later at a sorting facility. He made a very decent business selling all sorts of electronics and appliances people would leave at the free drop-off point.
He had hundreds of old computers. Commodores, Amigas, old Mac's and gaming consoles (pre PS/Xbox). He'd switch around the dead parts (if any), re-solder components, clean everything in some alcohol solution where you dip the whole chip board. He even used some sort of chemical that would de-age the plastic. You know how old plastic goes all yellow, he wiped this solution on it and left for a day or so and it would look just like new.
ZeroCapacity 3 years ago
If this guy finds an IBM 5100 computer I want it. No I take that back I need it!
Mary Hiers 3 years ago
I have a Commodore 64 I found. I can't bear to part with it, yet I have no use for it.
Philly Bob Squires 3 years ago
I have a 64, 2 128s and a 128D. Haven't used them in ages. Used to run a BBS with a modified Lt Kernal system.
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Mandy Delaforce (PC Girl) 3 years ago
Hydrogen peroxide whitens plastic. You make it into a paste, smear it all over the yellow plastic and put it out in the sun.
#24
occasional janitor/after hours worker here (not a garbage man per se) but I have done the job of picking up other people's "trash".
from years of cleaning up different bars and clubs, I have found... jewellery, change, loose bills... tools and decorations, barware, and valuable scraps from doing demolition and renovations...
As an after hours cleaner, I have found cash, IDs, and other personal effects... many times I find cigarette packs (I don't smoke) and even drugs (non-user). Confiscated alcohol usually gets put in the back as it is illegal to have on premises and many times this means free cans of beer or alcohol. only if it's unopened, though.
these sorts of jobs have given me the idea to go around on garbage days and check out what people have put out to trash. I have had some luck going around finding electronics, furniture, appliances, all sorts of things. Example: came home from the bar one night and grabbed a 25-CD changer on my way home. Also, working on job sites for demolitions yields LOTS of valuable scrap. steel, metal, appliances, perfectly good hauls that will net you $$/lb.
..And don't get me started on what I find on the ground just waking around. once I went to Oktoberfest and found 11 drink tickets, 25$ in cash. the next night I went out again and nabbed 6 tickets and $32.50. drink tickets were $6-8 each. all on the floor of the venue, nobody else even noticed. came out with pocket money both nights.
doing the cleanup crew work (waste management, property management, janitorial services) really helps you develop an eye for what people are willing to toss out, lose, and neglect. And there is something to be said for these professionals, they learn to understand the wasteful tendencies of people in general. as stated elsewhere in this thread, people will throw out just about anything.. and yet one man's trash can very well be another's treasure.
#25
Not a binman but when I was 13 a friend of mine and I were doing chores for our neighbor (It was punishment for low grades). We mowed the lawn, dusted his trophies ya know that kinda stuff. Then it came to taking out the trash. I was holding the black t rash bag as I dragged it out the door and the handle snapped off and the bag split. Out spilled some scrunched up torn paper. Wasn't sure what it was at first. After realising that all the pieces formed a picture we sat there for a good 15 minutes trying to make sense out of it.
It was a picture of 40 year old betty white in a bikini. Arguments where had but we eventually split the picture in half. I got those damn legs.
#26
Not a garbage man, but I found a framed picture of dogs playing poker one time in an alley. I hung it on my wall.
M O'Connell 3 years ago
This is a bad photo to use. I have that print at home and the dogs are playing Bridge, not poker.
Celtic Pirate Queen 3 years ago
Hahahaha! Reminds me of my Grandmother. She had the whole set (6, I think?)
#27
Not garbage man, but janitorial work over the summer in a movie theater.
In three months I found about 250 dollars in change and small bills, a very nice "scumbag" hat with the sticker that I actually use because it was surprisingly my size, all kinds of unopened candy that I'd just save, and then a copy of Pokemon Pearl that had a ton of competitive stuff on it, so I palparked everything off and sold the game.
After the third transformers movie came out at midnight I found fifty bucks just sitting on a seat, no one ever came in to claim it.
#28
I sort recycling in a university town, the most valuable things that I find are old textbooks. At the end of every quarter I collect all of the old books and sell them online, I usually make hundreds of dollars.
But other than that I recycle mostly normal things, more pizza boxes than I could ever count. And after a big party weekend tons of alcohol bottles, used condoms, and a few bins full of vomit are pretty typical.
#29
A relative was working as a garbage man maybe 25 years ago. Once he found a a batch of Coca-Cola bottles from the landfill. These were brought in from the nearby bottling facility. The coke inside was fine, but all the labels were torn, so they couldn't be sold. Also back then the bottles weren't recyclable, so the company just hauled them all to the dump. Not very illegal or valuable but bit strange.
Headless Roach 3 years ago
A big part of freeganism relies on otherwise good products that cannot be sold
keighterz 3 years ago
Some companies are capitalizing on this like the Ugly Fruit boxes which send you produce that is perfectly fine but looks weird. I did order selection for a huge arts and crafts distributor. Anything that was even slightly damaged in the warehouse or lost it’s label, etc. was put up for sale in the company’s outlet store for 90% off retail price. Got some great amazing deals and they weren’t just throwing things away as waste.
Load More Replies... Brenda Spagnola-Wilson 3 years ago
When "new" coke came out, friends dad found 2 cases of "old" coke at their lake house. Sold it for like $200!
What do you think ?
Chich 3 years ago
Knew a guy who cleared out homes after estate sales. Found a few boxes in the trash so took them home. They were filled with 3x5 index cards with signatures on them. The fellow who had passed away spent years mailing them off with a SASE asking for aurographs. Had all kinds from the 30s-60s. He gave me Ingrid Bergman's for my birthday as I am a big fan of hers.
Diemond Star 3 years ago
We have lottery tickets points for prizes here in my state, you can enter the non winning tickets into your account and redeem them for great items. My husband has people that collect non winning tickets for him and he enters them into his account but several of these tickets have money that hasn't been paid out so he gets the money. He keeps a log of the money and last year he ended up collecting $2700 .
MeMosabe 3 years ago
My 83yo FIL dumpster dives as a hobby. He's found perfectly good monitors and computers, vacuum cleaners, a brand new step ladder, and lots more. Just from the stuff he's given me, I've probably made over $500. Also, a guy down the street was a hoarder and he died. His family just started putting things out on the curb with a "FREE" sign. I was able to get 8 computer systems, 4 laptops, and several music keyboards. I made about $1800 on that haul.
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
It's tragic what people will throw away - but it's good to know that plenty of.people will rescue good stuff and find a use for it. One time I rescued a nice-looking framed poster from the trash and donated it to a charity thrift store. Another time I sweet-talk3d the people at an office where I worked into letting me take home a bunch of ceramic mugs they planned to toss. I kept a couple, and the rest went to charity. Finally, another office where I worked closed, and I saved some big photos they had mounted on their walls. Even though these photos pertained to their particular line of business, once again they made welcome thrift shop donations.
Chich 3 years ago
Knew a guy who cleared out homes after estate sales. Found a few boxes in the trash so took them home. They were filled with 3x5 index cards with signatures on them. The fellow who had passed away spent years mailing them off with a SASE asking for aurographs. Had all kinds from the 30s-60s. He gave me Ingrid Bergman's for my birthday as I am a big fan of hers.
Diemond Star 3 years ago
We have lottery tickets points for prizes here in my state, you can enter the non winning tickets into your account and redeem them for great items. My husband has people that collect non winning tickets for him and he enters them into his account but several of these tickets have money that hasn't been paid out so he gets the money. He keeps a log of the money and last year he ended up collecting $2700 .
MeMosabe 3 years ago
My 83yo FIL dumpster dives as a hobby. He's found perfectly good monitors and computers, vacuum cleaners, a brand new step ladder, and lots more. Just from the stuff he's given me, I've probably made over $500. Also, a guy down the street was a hoarder and he died. His family just started putting things out on the curb with a "FREE" sign. I was able to get 8 computer systems, 4 laptops, and several music keyboards. I made about $1800 on that haul.
Freya the Wanderer 3 years ago
It's tragic what people will throw away - but it's good to know that plenty of.people will rescue good stuff and find a use for it. One time I rescued a nice-looking framed poster from the trash and donated it to a charity thrift store. Another time I sweet-talk3d the people at an office where I worked into letting me take home a bunch of ceramic mugs they planned to toss. I kept a couple, and the rest went to charity. Finally, another office where I worked closed, and I saved some big photos they had mounted on their walls. Even though these photos pertained to their particular line of business, once again they made welcome thrift shop donations.
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