The saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Another person could easily find a purpose for a thing you consider has no value or is useless. But such things are often just thrown out, maybe because it’s too much work to find a person to sell it or to give it to, or maybe the person throwing out something really thinks that no one could possibly use it.
Reddit user wayne88imps had a feeling that garbage men and women should see all the good and maybe weird things people throw out, so they asked “Garbage men/women of the world. What’s the best/worst thing you have found ‘thrown away?'” This post got more than 65k likes and over 8k answers and Bored Panda went through them so you could read the best of the best.
All the photos used in this article are just for illustration and are not the actual photos.
More info: Reddit
#1
I found my wife in a pile of garbage while working on a garbage truck.
I was working being trained as a garbage man and one day a women was throwing out way to much good stuff, boxes of books and I could see she was trying to fill a car and mini van, so I figured she was moving and having to sacrifice good stuff. I talked to her and offered to come back later and help her move so she didn’t have to throw away so much stuff, and it ended up being a story that her husband left her for her best friend, and they moved in together, and she couldn’t afford the townhouse anymore as she was undergoing cancer treatment.
We got married one year later. I like to say I found her in the trash and fixed her up, but the truth is it is opposite. I was the trash she fixed up I.
Image credits: homestead1111
#2
My father was a garbage man when I was born. I don’t remember because I was like 3 months old. But my first dog was in the trash. My dad stopped. Picked up a box and heard some shuffling on the inside and there were two puppies. My dad kept one and the driver kept the other. They were brother and sister (my dad assumed). He kept the male and named him Jasper. He was literally my best friend growing up. I had him for 13 years and my dad tells me the job was worth it just for that dog. He called the police and animal control on the residence but doesn’t know what happened after that. All I know is I’m 37 and still love that dog so much. I’m so thankful my dad saved him and his sister.
Image credits: Glove_Compartment
#3
Grew up a small town so everyone knew everyone. Our garbage man (Lee) would regularly cull out items for us because he knew my dad would tinker on them. Lee gave me my first bike, which only needed to be painted, and so so many books.
He passed a few years ago. When I saw the notice I called up my sister and we had a bit of a nostalgic cry about what a nice man he was to us kids.
Image credits: ReadontheCrapper
#4
Obligatory not a garbage man but once many years agoI was asked to deliver books leftover from a church rummage sale to a minnumum security woman’s prison. The books almost filled the bed of my pick up. When I got there six inmates were assigned to unload the books. You would have thought all those musty paperbacks were made of gold. The women were delighted and very grateful.
#5
Not me but my brother. Someone apparently threw out grandpas stuff from the attic after he passed away. This was the last scheduled pickup at the house and everything was already moved out, nobody living there. Driving an automated (claw to grab and dump) truck, my brother was irritated there were these 2 bowling bags he had to get out to throw in the truck. He realized they seemed a bit heavy, so he opened them to see why. Inside there was real silver silverware/flatware. He ended up selling it for scrap prices to a jeweler and got $3000.
Image credits: Jedimasteryony
#6
My grandfather use to work for the city garage and would repair alot of the trucks, including the garbage truck. He once found a jewelry box that had cheap jewelry in it but he noticed there was a lose stone that looked like a diamond so he kept it. 20 years later he finally took it to a jewelry store to see if it was real. It was and it was worth 3,000 dollars so he made it into a new wedding ring for my gram.
#7
My little brother was emptying out a client’s basement and everything was going to be thrown away so my brother was told to keep anything he wanted. He saw a nice looking bike and took it. Turns out it was a Dahon mu p8 30th anniversary limited edition and in perfect condition. From what I found on it, it goes for over $4K.
Image credits: PsychedelicWeaselGun
#8
Not a garbage collector, but here’s a cool story about how garbage collectors in Ankara, Turkey gathered a bunch of books that were thrown away. They then bring them back to the depot where there’s a library’s worth of books now. They’ve saved about 20,000 books from the incinerator.
One person’s trash, is indeed another’s treasure: It’s always trash can, and never trash cannot.
#9
In the eighties I picked up a number of Philips colour tvs. I had a few, so fixing them was just a question of swapping parts. I then sold them cheaply or gave them away to fellow students.
Image credits: gozba
#10
Not a garbage man, but someone dumped a 6’x3′ patch of drooping agapanthus on the side of the road.
Managed to get it into the back of a rhino atv to get it home.
I sawed that monstrosity into like 18 patches. Most lining my yard, and some potted.
I was so excited. It really helped get me started into gardening. Now I’m propagating bird of paradise, jade, and some other plants idk the name of. I also potted two ash tree seedlings for future transplant, but I might try to bonsai one.
#11
before I was born my mother found a huge painting of mushrooms. it’s blue and yellow and certain parts of it glow in the dark, it’s one of the few things I have of her and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen and my description gives it no justice 🙂
#12
Not a garbage person, but I live in a large apartment complex. I could have furnished multiple apartments with all the stuff that gets thrown out here (and partially furnished mine), but the best thing I’ve seen in the pile was one of those grandfather clocks you can make from a kit. Still looked very nice, but it needed some fixing to get it to run again. I’m still waiting to find a piano (I would like a piano).
Image credits: Frosty-Hour5112
#13
Worked cleaning apartments one summer in a college town. Foreign students are notorious for leaving lots of valuables behind. The most outlandish item I came across was a brand new BMW that they left abandoned in the complex parking lot.
#14
I’m not a garbage man, but I once scored a whole custom built staircase from a dumpster. It was in perfect condition but apparently built to the wrong spec. It worked great for my barn
#15
in the early 2000’s my best friends dad was a garabge man. I used to hang out at their house a lot and i remember him finding uncut sheets of hologrpahic dragon ball z trading cards in the trash and bringing them back. They were super dope to see.
Image credits: TheeElite
#16
I worked as a garbage man in 1972. A small stray cat jumped into the back of the hopper to look for food. I took him home and named him saigon. This was the best thing. Second best thing someone threw out an old pair of skis. There was snow on the ground and me and the other guy each took a ski and stood on it and held onto the truck, great fun. Third best we found an entire case of “brylcream” (look it up) and me and the other guy had brylcream fights all day, total mess (I stripped off before going into my house after work). Worst things a garbage can that had live coals in it that started our truck on fire.
#17
Finally something I can contribute too! I do trash at apartments. In the year I’ve worked the job, I’ve found and kept:
-a couch
-2 desk chairs
-a floor lamp
-deck furniture
-a TV stand
-my cat
-various decorations I’ve given to my mom
Some things I’ve sold
-a bike, $40
-some outdoor vases, $30
-a bed frame, $50
-an original xbox with at least 80 games all in a box, $20 (to my friend that collects old video games)
But yeah, it’s crazy what people throw away.
#18
My friend found a PS4 (excellent condition) and a brand new controller still in the box
#19
Found a 55 inch tv next to the dumpster 4 years ago. It was missing 1 hdmi port on the side. It looked like someone might have tripped and ripped it out. Anyway, I opened it up googled the motherboard serial number and found a brand new replacement for like $60 less then 25min away….needless to say I called ahead on my day off picked it up and it works like a charm. Still use the tv to this day.
55in Sony 2012 lcd tv. I have chromecast with google tv hooked up to it now and it’s awesome.
#20
My dad worked at a landfill for most of my childhood and my brother and I both got into related companies that directly dealt with landfills for a while. One of the most common things I remember hearing about and seeing all the time were clothing with minor irregularities that had to be thrown away by said clothing company. It was stuff like Roxy, Vans and other stuff you’d see at places like Tillys or similar clothing store. One of my old coworkers families basically were clothed their whole life from this type of clothing being dumped. The clothing was clean or could be cleaned to a decent level that the clothing was fine to wear. It was dumb stuff like small rip, missing zipper or some other weird thing they couldn’t sell it that way. Everyone at the landfill was basically in on the scheme. When the truck with the clothing pulled up to the fee booth, someone would radio people at the dump site and it was like a pack of vultures, everyone on the site would swarm the truck as soon as everything was dumped out of the truck.
#21
Friend of ours found two bullet resistant vests with paramedic written across them, being thrown out behind a fire station. I guess the expire or something.
Image credits: timias55
#22
I found a cardboard cutout from the Mr and Mrs Smith movie release when it was in theaters. I put Mr Smith on one side of the truck and Mrs Smith on the other side. Got a few fun honks going down the road with a gorgeous Angelina Jolie on the back of a trash truck
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Image credits: stu0027
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