As the public fascination with what dwells in our sewage and trash seemingly develops unabated, its perhaps timely that an exhibition is to be staged over the summer showcasing some of the surprising items discovered in household trash.
Waste disposal company Junk Hunters is staging the London event, “Trash or Treasure?”, which will put on display some of the items it has collected from homes and businesses across the UK. Many valuable items have been discovered amongst the junk, says the firm, including a first edition Charles Dickens book, Louis Vuitton handbags and even gold jewellery.
By exhibiting some of the more interesting items for the first time, Junk Hunters says it hopes to make people think twice before they throw stuff away.
The firm is initially holding the exhibition at its north London base on 16-21 July, although they are also hoping to team up with a London art gallery for a second exhibition in the autumn.
First editions of the Dickens novella, titled The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain, can sell for over £1,000 while the Louis Vuitton handbags could fetch up to £700 a piece.
Battered old snooker tables are common in refuse, but one of Junk Hunters’ most valuable finds was seemingly a luxury, mint condition snooker table worth up to £3,000.
Close behind in value was a discarded but working Life Fitness treadmill which is worth around £2,300.
One Londoner who didn’t want to take the time to untangle a mess of jewellery made of precious metal instead discarded the entire lot, including gold chains.
A collection of medals and cups belonging to a former snooker champion were picked up in Wembley, along with an exclusive retirement souvenir.
Fully functioning Macbook Pros and Notebooks have been found among the detritus, and sometimes the team finds piles of money.
Junk Hunters founder and CEO Harsha Rathnayake said that his team has found works of art and even piles of cash among Britain’s waste. He said: “One man’s trash really is another man’s treasure. It’s amazing how much good stuff people throw away in the UK.
“I grew up in Sri Lanka and when I came to the UK I couldn’t believe the quality of the stuff people were happy to see go into landfill.
“I set up Junk Hunters try to salvage as much of this as possible. We currently recycle more than 75% of everything we collect and I have set a target of 80% which we are working towards.
You can visit the firm’s website at www.junkhunters.co.uk.
