Trash can sometimes be priceless too, a man in Sydney has proved that. Leonardo Urbano, a 30-year-old man from Sydney last year made AUD 100,000 which is approximately Rs 56 lakh by selling treasures he found in heaps of trash. He has been doing so for past four years.
He went on searching for items that he could sell and earn some money. He found cash, coffee makers, and even Fendi bag that he sold for around $200 (Rs 16,705) as reported by CNBC Make It.
In Australia, local councils have "free rubbish pickup services" where people discard items like furniture, computers and Dyson vacuum cleaners.
His daily hunt started off early morning after breakfast, he told the publications, and said, "You could see mountains of stuff, like literally, mountains. And that’s when I find most of the stuff."
"That’s where the big items will be, like fridges and wardrobes and couches," he added.
Urbano then brought all the items he found and then segregated them based on their condition. He kept some for himself and sold others within a weeks' time on online platforms like Marketplace and Facebook.
He gave away the items that he did not sell to people for free. He believed that if he gives away the unwanted items, people will consider recycling and consider doing it.
"I think it was good to give away a lot of stuff for free. So, people will get into recycling, and they will also start to pay attention to all the rubbish,” he said.
Some other items that Urbano found in the trash include, television sets, washing machines, laptops, couches.
Calling himself "The trash lawyer", he said that he gives the "trash" a new life and lets it have the right to "live another day".
Published 12 July 2024, 07:24 IST