We’ve all heard it: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”. Dumpster diving, however, does not typically sound enticing. Contrary to popular belief, dumpsters contain more than molding produce and used tissues. There have been several riches found in dumpsters in the past, some even life changing. Below is our list of what we think the top the best dumpster treasures.
Dumpster Diving Treasure
1. Cash: We’ve all found a few bucks lying around in a public place, but not typically in a dumpster. We could all use a little extra cash, but try enough to buy a new house! While cleaning up some trash, a few highway workers managed to discover $100,000 of cash in a dumpster. Someone was literally throwing away his or her money!
2. Lottery tickets: Like cash, often people find lottery tickets. Unused and winning lottery tickets to be exact. In 2005, a regular dumpster diver hit the jackpot when he managed to find a winning lottery ticket, earning a million bucks! That’s a keeper!
3. Ancient artifacts: There have been a few records of divers finding important historic artifacts. Nick DiMola, a junk removal employee, managed to discover about $16,000 worth of ancient Mayan artifacts. The artifacts were dated back to 300 B.C.
4. Movie props and memorabilia: Even before the movie was released, one lucky Twlight fan found the movie scripts to New Moon. The woman also found another movie script. The woman later returned the scripts to the studio producing the movie located in Hollywood. Talk about a sneak peak!
5. Jewelry and watches: One might question the intentions of someone who threw away precious jewelry and watches. Jewelry and watches, however, typically just slip off the owner’s hand or fingers. Dumpster divers have seen a plethora of different kinds of accessories, but one fortunate collector stumbled across, not one, but two Rolex watches. Also in the past, divers have collected valuable and sentimental jewelry, like wedding rings.
6. Art: Next time you’re on the hunt for some modern home décor, skip the shops and hit the streets! One New York woman was walking past a dumpster In New York when she spotted an expensive masterpiece by artist Rufino Tamayo. She later sold the piece for $1 million.
7. Cars: Sick of your car? Throw it away! We are not sure why or how car owners manage to put their cars in public dumpsters, but there have been several instances reported. How these cars ended up here or if they still work, we can’t say, but this sure take the hassle out of going to the a dealer.
8. Furniture: After years of wear and tear, leaving unwanted and old furniture outside is a common move. In New York, one designer intentionally left his own furniture out for the public to take home.
9. Electronics: There have been numerous reports of dumpster divers discovering valuable electronics, like video game consoles and TVs that simply needed minor fixes, like new batteries. A man in Fort Wayne, Ind. Found a Xbox in pristine condition. One man found a laptop containing incriminating evidence, which aided in convicting Goldman Sachs trader of mortgage fraud.
Dumpster divers should expect some strange things in the trash. We don’t think it comes to surprise to anyone that some odd treasures have been discovered. Some of these oddities include radioactive materials used to construct nuclear bombs, 45 sculptures of the Pillsbury Doughboy and hundreds of bags of uneaten McDonalds. To most, dumpsters appear to simply be smelly pits of garbage, but to some, lives have been changed after scavenging through the public messes.
Of course, some of these “treasures” aren’t treasures to everyone. How does your list stack up? What do you consider treasure?
