A 30-year-old man saved a huge amount of money by selling things he found in the rubbish.
They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and the following story proves it perfectly.
In the age of the internet, there are dozens of ways to make money.
One person who decided to put this into practice is Leonardo Urbano, 30, from Australia. In 2023 alone, he made a whopping $66,000.
How did he do it? By collecting rubbish
When we say ‘rubbish’, we don’t mean the rubbish you’re used to, but things like furniture and clothes.
Over the past year, Leonardo has spent his days rummaging through piles of rubbish in Sydney in the hope of finding hidden… diamonds.
Some of the goods he got his hands on included fridges, Fendi bags and jewellery – to name but a few.
Leonardo then sold these items online on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace.
In Australia, local councils offer free rubbish collection.
“City Rubbish is a free rubbish collection service provided by local councils in Australia,” explains the Sydney City Rubbish website. “The local waste management team will come and collect certain items from your home free of charge. This is usually offered to residents twice a year. However, some councils may have a different frequency, such as once a quarter”.
But until these clean-ups are organised, many people will leave their items by the roadside, which seems ideal for people like Leonardo who are on the hunt for hidden treasures.
Some of the finds are shocking
“You could see mountains of stuff – literally mountains. And that’s where I find the most stuff,” Leonardo said, according to NBC Los Angeles. “That’s where the big stuff would be, like refrigerators and closets and sofas.”
Some of his more expensive finds have surprised his friends.
“My friends are shocked at how many good clothes end up in the trash,” Leonardo said.
Some of his more expensive finds have surprised his friends.
“My friends are shocked at how much good clothes end up in the rubbish,” says Leonardo.Some of the items he has discovered in the last year include over 50 televisions, over 20 washing machines, 50 computers/laptops and 30 fridges.One of his most notable finds was a painting by two-time Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu, estimated to be worth $3,000.Leonardo also unearthed an Italian coffee pot worth $400.Impressive!
