Treasures in the trash: the amazing things New Yorkers throw away | Guardian Culture

Treasures in the trash: the amazing things New Yorkers throw away | Guardian Culture

The second floor of a Department of Sanitation garage in East Harlem is home to thousands of objects New Yorkers have thrown away over the last three decades. The items were found in the trash, but look nothing like garbage. They have been carefully organized and kept by sanitation worker Nelson Molina.
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The Treasure in the Trash Museum, as he calls it, is an impressive collection of objects that Molina and some of his coworkers found during their daily job. ‘We are not allowed to take stuff home,’ Molina told the Guardian’s Ana Terra Athayde, ‘That’s why I like to display and everything.’

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#trashtotreasure #trash #newyork

32 Comments

  1. @giantasp on January 2, 2024 at 8:51 am

    I don’t understand hes not allowed to take anything (which is lame i know) then has a place full??

  2. @RyanSpringer1984 on January 2, 2024 at 8:51 am

    Is this guy a curator for Department of Sanitation NY?

  3. @jameskillalotthewarr on January 2, 2024 at 8:52 am

    It shocks me what some people throw out. Family keepsakes are the worst things to see here.

  4. @CPskipper21344 on January 2, 2024 at 8:55 am

    10 comments. Wow.

  5. @cornelschiauro-bz on January 2, 2024 at 8:58 am

    Da, remarcabil.

  6. @ragingbrawler on January 2, 2024 at 8:59 am

    Cool

  7. @DSNYSANMAN on January 2, 2024 at 8:59 am

    I went to see this amazing collection of so called trash, I was amazed how this place looks like a museum. Mr. Molina did a great job, I hope this place never gets condemned. #DSNY #STRONGEST #QW01 #SANITATION #SANITATIONWORKER #LOVEMYJOB

  8. @ellitestar on January 2, 2024 at 9:03 am

    the coolest hoarder ive seen so far.

  9. @jolxmrh329 on January 2, 2024 at 9:04 am

    I like the projector!

  10. @jenniferdyke353 on January 2, 2024 at 9:06 am

    Update: This video was published in late 2014. Mr. Molina, the sanitation worker, retired in 2015 but has continued to maintain the museum in its current location as of 2017. He is there about 3 days a week. The museum is still not open to the public, because of its location in a municipal building. However, they do occasionally host OHNY open house tours as part of a larger city program. Unfortunately, the museum’s future is still uncertain, as the building is no longer able to house the sanitation trucks for structural reasons and may be torn down. Here is a link to an update from 2017:
    https://hyperallergic.com/368152/nyc-trash-is-a-museum-of-treasure/

  11. @jeanbernardbreu9551 on January 2, 2024 at 9:06 am

    pk Google

  12. @lizzyq9059 on January 2, 2024 at 9:07 am

    What a lovely man.

  13. @Jaqcarrera on January 2, 2024 at 9:09 am

    I love this guy.

  14. @__BERSERKER__ on January 2, 2024 at 9:15 am

    liberals are so greedy they wont even let the garbage man keep what he finds. They havent found a way to tax him on it yet. They will probably end up telling him It has to be thrown away or auctioned.

  15. @jackieburnett6881 on January 2, 2024 at 9:17 am

    This is amazing! They should make it a museum

  16. @judithwalker3600 on January 2, 2024 at 9:19 am

    Somebody needs to step up and make sure this becomes a Museum and not just sold off or thrown away when he retires, and who but him as it’s curator! How does that Go Fund me thing work?

  17. @SeaShellsSeaShells89 on January 2, 2024 at 9:25 am

    Beautiful collection. He could make thousands if he sells them.

  18. @runnings0hard on January 2, 2024 at 9:26 am

    i would love to buy some of that treasure …

  19. @Jared7873 on January 2, 2024 at 9:27 am

    This video is now shown on the website wimp.com at http://www.wimp.com/take-a-tour-of-the-garbage-man-museum/

  20. @jolomiagbowu8581 on January 2, 2024 at 9:29 am

    You are not allowed to take things home?

  21. @67vortiz on January 2, 2024 at 9:31 am

    I used to work in District 65 in Brooklyn 1970 Dep of Sanitation City Of NY

  22. @cierahowell8653 on January 2, 2024 at 9:32 am

    I feel bad he can’t take these things or some when he retires. The things he treasures most.

  23. @miabay4692 on January 2, 2024 at 9:33 am

    Amazing!… Love this guy!

  24. @FinancialMatter on January 2, 2024 at 9:35 am

    this guys is amazing!

  25. @susanbehring3401 on January 2, 2024 at 9:36 am

    What a cool guy!

  26. @theredbeardedman on January 2, 2024 at 9:36 am

    Greatest recycler of all time!

  27. @HunterMann on January 2, 2024 at 9:37 am

    In a way, he has a unique experience: getting to be a selective collector but not having the burden of actually owning any of it. Too often collectors fill up their houses, so full that their family doesn’t have enough space to co-habit comfortably. I think he is doing a great display and hope it can be open to the public, with him as the docent, tour guide. It looks like a well-organized thrift store, a shame nothing can be sold, but I guess useums have their place in popular culture.

  28. @lyonstill3139 on January 2, 2024 at 9:38 am

    What a sweetheart.

  29. @AhJodie on January 2, 2024 at 9:40 am

    Wow, sweet man!

  30. @gabrielnginafrank9212 on January 2, 2024 at 9:42 am

    I think for 34 years it’s his collection, not sanitation Dept. He has a keen eye for treasures, like Mike Wolf from American Pickers.

  31. @ruthmarcelo4847 on January 2, 2024 at 9:47 am

    r u drake from the future

  32. @turdlinger5000 on January 2, 2024 at 9:47 am

    Wow… that is nuts, I wonder what that collection would be valued at?

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