30-Year-Old Man Makes 100,000 Australian Dollars by Selling Items Picked from Trash

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and Leonardo Urbano is living proof of this adage. Last year, Urbano made as much as 100,000 Australian dollars ($66,306) by rummaging through rubbish piles in Sydney for hidden gems and selling them. His loot included everything from Fendi bags to coffee machines, gold jewelry, and even wads of cash.

Summarized Insights:

• Urbano finds valuable discarded items.

• Sells items on Facebook Marketplace.

• Advocates for recycling and reuse.

• Pays rent with earnings from finds.

• Furnished apartment for free.

Every morning after breakfast, Urbano would hop on a bicycle or in a car and scour the streets of Sydney for rubbish piles, each day bringing a different surprise. 

“You could see mountains of stuff—like literally, mountains. And that’s where I find most of the stuff,” he marveled, noting that big items like fridges, wardrobes, and couches were common finds.

In Australia, local councils offer free rubbish pick-up services twice a year or more for residents. 

During these times, people usually discard furniture and bulkier goods on the streets, destined for landfills. 

Other common finds for Urbano include computers, Dyson vacuum cleaners, and television sets, usually still in good condition.

Urbano explained that households with more spending power might discard older gadgets to make space for newer models, even if the old ones are still in working condition. 

“When they want a new gadget, they buy a new one and throw away the old just because the battery may not be as good anymore,” he said. 

Other times, his finds might need a bit of cleaning and minor repair work.

After bringing his curbside finds back home, Urbano selects a few pieces to keep or give away and sells the rest on platforms like Facebook Marketplace. 

Due to limited space in his apartment, he usually tries to sell the items within a week or two. If they don’t sell, he gives them away to make space for new hauls.

“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. 

His friends are often shocked at how much good clothing, like perfect clothing, ends up in the trash, sometimes even containing wads of cash forgotten in pockets.

Recently, Urbano sold a small Fendi bag for around $200. 

When he finds luxury items, he verifies their authenticity by checking serial numbers on sites like Entropy or consulting friends who sell luxury goods. 

Some of the computer equipment he found could have belonged to expat students who left behind bulky electronics because they were too cumbersome to transport.

Urbano’s finds last year included over 50 television sets, 30 fridges, more than 20 washing machines, 50 computers and laptops, up to 15 couches, 50 vacuums, 150 pots and plants, 100 lamps and decorative paintings, and $849 worth of cash. 

According to Australia’s most recent biennial national waste report, the country generated around 75.8 million tons of waste in the financial year 2020 to 2021, with around 30% sent to landfills.

Calling himself “The Trash Lawyer,” Urbano advocates for the right of “trash” to live another day. 

He has been dumpster diving for the past four years and has paid rent with the money earned from selling his finds. 

He’s also furnished his apartment for free, finding valuable items like a painting by two-time Archibald Prize finalist Dapeng Liu with an estimated value of $3,000, an antique Victorian English centerpiece, and an Italian coffee machine worth around $400.

Urbano shared that he has not needed to buy cleaning products for years. “When people move out, you need to give back the apartment totally empty. So for years and years, I kept finding laundry detergent 30% to 40% full, so I will just bring it home,” he explained.

Leonardo Urbano’s story highlights the value hidden in what others discard, proving that with a keen eye and a bit of effort, one man’s trash truly can become another man’s treasure