- Leo learnt how to pay his rent with rubbish after he discovered a vintage Italian coffee machine lying outside his neighbour’s house.
- He started finding more valuables on the street and began selling them through Instagram and Facebook Marketplace in 2020.
- Now, he’s made over $10,000 in cash from selling people’s discarded items.
- Leo Urbano, 30, from Sydney, NSW, shares his story below.
My eye was caught by a vintage Italian coffee machine lying outside my neighbour’s house, ready for council pick-up.
It was March 2019, and I was riding home from my hospitality job.
Let’s see if it still works, I thought, bringing it inside.
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I was an avid coffee drinker, so when I plugged it in and it slowly whirred back to life, I was stoked!
Why would they throw away a perfectly good coffee machine? I wondered.
Over the coming days, I kept noticing quality goods being dumped on the street.
Donning gloves, I filed through a stack of paintings, collecting those I liked.
One was a beautiful black ink portrait of a woman peering over her shoulder, with the name of the artist in the corner.
I brought it to work the next day to show my colleague, Oscar, 23.
“People are literally throwing away their treasure,” I told him.
“I wonder if it’s worth anything,” he mused.
After searching online, we found the art gallery that had sold it. I emailed the gallery, who confirmed it was an original worth around $3000.
“Lucky you!” Oscar laughed.
Once COVID hit, my job dried up and I had more time to rummage. My search progressed from the piles in my street to nearby suburbs.
These items were destined for landfill, and left on public property, so no-one objected to me rifling through.
Of course, I often got funny looks from strangers, but I didn’t care. My hunts produced hundreds of electronic items and discarded bikes. Through trial and error and watching online tutorials, I restored many to life.
In June 2020, I started displaying my finds on Instagram.
I attracted many admirers of my vintage wares and even a few offers to purchase.
There’s money to be made here, I realised.
I began listing my finds on Facebook Marketplace and they were all snapped up.
Soon, I was earning enough cash from my ‘trash’ to cover my rent each month!
I picked up part-time work as a waiter but on my off days continued to hunt.
The best items were found in wealthy suburbs. Most were discarded because people were moving or a new model had come on the market.
The best finds I kept to redecorate my home.
“Your place is always full of fun gadgets,” a friend said.
Items like shoes, clothing, heaters or plants, I donated to charity shops.
Better in the hands of someone who needs them than at the tip, I figured.
I’ve been collecting trash for over four years now and I still go searching three to four times a week.
Sometimes, I even venture into the underground trash rooms of big buildings.
It gives me such an adrenaline rush!
I have found hundreds of working appliances as well as cameras, rare trading cards, and even back massagers.
One pile even included a pouch full of foreign currency which converted to $1277 Australian dollars!
By now, I’ve made over $10,000 in cash from selling discarded items.
It couldn’t be more true – one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
Follow Leo on Instagram, @thetrashlawyer
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