We’ll start here by saying that while we do specialize in dumpster bin rentals and trash removal for Trenton and Colborne areas, over all our years in the business we have yet to find anything of any real value in the waste we’ve disposed of. A few things that are interesting for the fact they’re in the trash, but nothing that would be considered worth anything.
However, there’s always a first and so if and when one of our dumpsters does come back to us with something of value in it we’ll be sure to let you know. After checking with the Ontario disposal bin rental customer to confirm if it was intentionally tossed out, of course. We’re a reputable and honest business first and foremost, but beyond that we’d be pretty darn pleased to get something of value out of a dumpster just like the rest of you would.
So what we thought we’d do today is share 4 stories of different times when someone made a very fortunate – and maybe even profitable – discovery amongst trash that was on its way to the dump or elsewhere and might have been lost forever if that person didn’t discover it.
Not to suggest that any of you should be rifling through dumpsters. Leave that to waste disposal pros for Colborne and Trenton, meaning us here at Load n’ Lift.
Ancient Mayan artifacts
An American man was working at a junk removal company 16 years ago and was cleaning out the apartment of an artist who had died recently. In a cardboard barrel he found $16,500 worth of ancient Mayan artifacts. Fortunately, this treasure was given to an appropriate museum to be researched and displayed as historical cultural artifacts. Which is the way it should be, so this man is to be commended for being responsible with this very valuable find.
Inheritance in Recycling
Now here’s one that we can directly relate to given what we do here as trash bin rental and waste disposal pros in Ontario. It was only just a few years ago that a man in the US State of Kentucky was working at a recycling center. It was a mundane and uneventful day like any other, until he found $22K of U.S. savings bonds lying in a barrel of scrap metal.
Again, a good ending to this one as the man tracked down the rightful owner and returned his savings bonds to him. But this is a great indication of just how possible it is to dispose of items when you don’t intend to. If you’re going to choose an ideal spot to ‘stash’ something, better to choose something that might not get tossed out in the trash some day. Especially if long-term memory is not your strong suit.
Lost Work of Art
A woman walking along a street in Manhattan, New York saw a painting that was resting up against a pile of trash and obviously intended to be collected along with it. She decided to pick it up and take it home for one reason only – she liked the colors. After doing a little research at home she was surprised to find out it was a lost masterpiece named ‘Tres Personajes’ and painted by Rufino Tamayo, a famous Mexican artist. The painting sold at auction for a $1 million! No doubt this woman looks back on picking up that discarded painting as one of the best things she’s ever done in her life!
Million Dollar Dumpster Dive
In the early 2000s a man named Edward St. John was a regular around a certain convenience store in the US state of Massachusetts. A little down on his luck, he would search through the dumpster there and see if he could find anything that he might be able to make use of. There were always plenty of lottery scratch n’ win tickets in there, and with not much better to do Edward would collect them and see if someone had mistakenly discarded a winner.
Well, in 2005 someone did. And the discarded ticket turned out to be worth $1 million! We can assume Edward St. John has no regrets about his dumpster diving ways, and he probably hasn’t dove into one for 15+ years now! Good on you Edward.
Now of course not everyone can be this lucky with finding treasures in trash, but anyone needing dumpster bin rentals in Colborne or Trenton plus waste disposal services can get it right the first time by always calling Load n’ Lift to have dumpster bins on site and then removed with the very best in pricing and service and waste disposal done properly as per Ontario provincial regulations. Call us anytime!
