Nelson Molina was a garbage collector for
more than 30 years. He’s rescued over 50,000 treasures discarded
as trash along the way. In fact, his Manhattan-based stash, which
he calls a museum, is filled with everything from toys to guitars to windows, typewriters,
and more. If he hadn’t kept them, they’d sit in
a landfill; to Molina, the choice was clear. From random odds and ends to items expensive
and rare, he has thousands on display and continues to add more. Let’s explore these and other surprises
from the trash in this episode of The Infographics Show, Crazy Things Garbage Collectors Have
Found. Molina’s museum is located in a Manhattan
warehouse on the second story of the Department of Sanitation. Those who enter find themselves surrounded
on every side by what others have thrown away. He’s got a star of David made in memory
of 9-11 forged from World Trade Center steel. He’s found a vintage metal reproduction
of a social security card from the 1930s. He has Star Wars collectibles from the time
of its debut, baseballs signed by the Yankee’s best, and a book with Bette Midler’s autograph. A Fender guitar hangs on the wall in a corner
Michael Jackson-themed shrine. He appreciates much less valuable items too. He’s rescued stained glass windows from
a church and even a carved wood chair dampened by rain. Holidays were always especially busy. These are the times when older items are thrown
out to make room for things shiny and new. As a result, rows and rows of color-coordinated
Furbies rest along the shelves. Action figures big, medium, and small are
piled on a table’s surface. Toys of every kind imaginable have a place
among his displays. A child’s dream-come-true is sitting in
his warehouse and was discovered bit by bit in the city’s trash. To Molina it’s a sad testament to how many
things others could enjoy that New Yorkers just throw away. He hopes that those who visit will not only
marvel at what he’s found but stop to think about what they should reuse, give away, or
recycle. Jose Gutierrez is also a trash collector whose
discoveries of thousands of thrown out books have earned him his own claim to fame. He is known as Colombia’s Lord of the Books,
a title that his job as a garbage man made possible. This is because over 20 years ago he brought
home his first book and has continued to save the literature he has encountered since. The ground floor of Gutierrez’s home is
now a community library with his finds stacked wall to wall. Three rooms are devoted to nothing but books,
25,000 of them at least, and continue to build up more. Most books are in good condition, discarded
in containers separate from the rest of the trash. Gutierrez has found his treasures on routes
all around Bogota city. He knows that the richer northern regions
are where the rare editions and hardcover versions can be found. He also knows that the paperbacks are often
tossed in the trash of the south. All are useful in helping the children of
his community learn how to read and hopefully end its history of poverty. This dream has become a reality only because
of the many books he has rescued from others’ trash. Craig Randall is also a garbage truck driver
who sees more in what others dismiss as trash. His fiancé was less than thrilled on the
times he brought home an old sewing machine or some books, but when he showed her a Wendy’s
contest sticker it was a completely different matter. Randall’s good fortune all began when he
spotted the Wendy’s cup in the back of his truck. He had won a chicken sandwich from a similar
cup the week before, so he decided to try his luck once more. He took off the sticker with the hope of scoring
some fries. What he found could buy him fries for years. Randall was shocked to read that he had won
a staggering $200,000, though he didn’t quite believe it at first. In fact, he tossed the cup but fortunately
kept the sticker. It was his sister who mailed it in to confirm
that it was real. It was. He hired legal help and despite finding the
sticker in the trash, he was able to claim the check. Randall, a garbage truck driver who had long
dreamed of owning a place of his own, planned to buy a new home on the Cape. In contrast to the others, Peoria Disposal
Company driver Gerald Cummings was used to finding little to be excited about in the
garbage. One day, however, he saw a black square that
turned out to be a wallet. The wallet had cash and cards inside. Cummings called the office which contacted
the police, and its owner was happily found. To this day it remains a mystery how the wallet
ended up intact in the trash but his owner has kept it as a memento. He now forgoes wallets entirely, choosing
to keep items in his pocket instead. Garbage collector Anthony Jones made a similar
discovery to become another person’s hero. It wouldn’t have happened if the arm of
his truck had not malfunctioned. When it did, the trash it held fell to the
ground and Jones began to pick it up. He stopped when he saw envelopes of cash among
the mess. An honest man, he returned the $8,500. The owner rewarded him with enough to treat
himself to the biggest steak he could find, and both were quite thankful that his truck
didn’t work right that day. While not of any monetary value, another important
discovery was made in the garbage of our government. Randy Hopkins, an ex-con employed as a Washington,
D.C. sanitation worker, was quite surprised to find the President of the United States
itinerary among the trash. The papers held countless details of President
Bush’s plans for travel to the state of Florida. This included information such as arrival
and departure times as well as who would be aboard Air Force One, Marine One, and their
accompanying choppers during the flight. Further, it gave a play by play of the Presidents
entire day and the order of the motorcade that would be used to get there. While the document could be dangerous in the
wrong hands, the Secret Service denied responsibility for the mistake. They claimed it was an unclassified White
House document. However, classified or not, most would agree
it had no place in the trash. Believe it or not, while someone in the White
House obviously made a mistake, far worse has happened in the past. Security for President Cheney, for example,
once left his protection details behind in a shop. President Bill Clinton’s staff took off
at one point, leaving the man with the nuclear codes behind. So, while a White House employee clearly forgot
to use the burn bag for sensitive documents, in the scheme of things, worse mistakes have
been made. In addition to these finds, some collection
crews have had the misfortune to come upon some much more unpleasant things. Among these are monster sized rats and even
deceased livestock such as cows or pigs. At times cats and dogs have been discovered,
many cold and hungry, thrown out intentionally with the rest of the trash. And, sometimes, as a New York garbage man
can confirm, they may even stumble upon a human leg. Yet others have discovered upon entire bodies. Sometimes these are victims of murder, as
was the case in a landfill where a sanitation worker came upon a body piece by piece. The local sheriff claimed he had never seen
anything quite like it. More than likely the sanitation worker hadn’t
either. It was an event that neither will likely forget. Dumpsters are also sometimes the place where
some die for one reason or another. Afterwards, they may be unintentionally picked
up. In Wichita, Kansas, for example, a man was
found in a bakery dumpster. An autopsy concluded that he died of natural
causes, though no one could figure out what brought him to such an unusual place. Other times, more traumatizing still, the
act of collection itself may prove fatal. In some cases, those in the dumpster may be
knocked to the ground and run over by the truck. In others some may die of shock as they are
lifted in the air. The situations that occur most frequently
are when garbage men tragically compact people along with the trash. In these cases, they may not find the body
until they arrive back at the dump. One man beat all odds and was compacted many
times but lived, using a shopping cart as a defense. However, his legs were broken and because
of an infection, part of his right leg was later removed. However, unlike others less fortunate, he
had survived. If fact, the sibling of a man who had suffocated
in the back of a truck ended up suing the waste-management company for indifference
to homeless lives. The investigation revealed that as many as
six others had died in the state within years. However, testimony showed that the garbage
truck drivers were not indifferent as alleged, nor were they unaware. In fact, they had begun to shake the dumpsters
at pickup to wake those sleeping inside. Unfortunately, such measures must not have
been practiced widely enough. While the job of a garbage collector can be
exciting and at other times sad, it can be downright dangerous as well. It is all too often that collectors find pieces
of drug labs in the trash. One sanitation worker in Evansville, Indiana
was forced to call for help as noxious smells and smoke escaped from i his truck. The cause was traced to smoldering pieces
of what remained of not one meth lab, but two. Incredibly, it was the second time this happened
on the same block within a week. Fortunately, in this case it was caught in
time. In other instances, equipment has caught fire
in the back of a truck. The reason this happens a lot in some areas
is that for each pound of meth produced approximately five pounds of hazardous wastes are made. Combustibles used for meth production include
things such as muriatic acid, Coleman fuel, and acetone. These with the combination of heat or fire
could turn deadly for those driving to a landfill. Fortunately, trash removal employees have
had a chance to combat this problem by helping authorities identify those to blame. In Memphis, Tennessee, as many as 31 labs
were found after workers noticed a smoking bag in their truck. Experts at their route, they could trace it
to where it had come. Police were then able to survey the residence
and obtain a warrant to search it. The two female occupants were arrested, protecting
future garbage collectors from the hazards of their illicit crimes. While many realize that the job of a garbage
collector is a hard one, many do not realize that it can sometimes bring quite a reward. Other times it entails a gruesome discovery
or, with garbage on fire, can be hazardous to a collector’s health. In the United States, the average salary most
earn is $40,000. Is that enough? Is it too much? Also, be
sure to check out our other video called This Is
Why You're Fat Thanks for watching, and, as always, don’t forget to like, share, and
subscribe. See you next time!
