Posted on 03/21/2016 5:48:55 AM PDT by NYer
(All Photos: Dylan Thuras)
On the second floor of a nondescript warehouse owned by New York City's Sanitation Department in East Harlem is a treasure trove—filled with other people's trash.
Most of the building is used as a depot for garbage trucks, but there's a secret collection that takes over an entire floor. The space is populated by a mind-bogglingly wide array of items: a bestiary of Tamagotchis, Furbies; dozens of Pez dispensers; female weight lifting trophies; 8-track tapes; plates, paintings, sporting equipment and much more.
This is the Treasures in the Trash collection, created entirely out of objects found by Nelson Molina, a now-retired sanitation worker, who began by decorating his locker. Collected over 30 years, it is a visual explosion, organized by type, color, and size. Recently, Atlas Obscura had the chance to visit the collection with the New York Adventure Club, take some photos, and revel in the vast creative possibilities of trash.
Unfortunately, this isn't a collection that keeps regular hours; drop-ins are not allowed. For more information on the occasional organized tours, email [email protected].
Guitars, including an original Fender, surround the Michael Jackson shrine.
New Yorkers would seem to hate pewter tableware considering how much of it they put in the trash.
Art is a particular specialty of the collection. Nelson Molina grabbed any piece that caught his eye.
Even being Superman won't spare you the fate of being thrown in the garbage by New Yorkers with little space to spare. 
A relaxing garden area, set aside for sanitation workers.
Every object in the collection comes with an untold story, not least these three female body building trophies, all thrown away for reasons we will never know.
Christmas, unsurprisingly, has a place in both the trash and in the Treasures in the Trash collection.
A wonderful sense of humor infuses the entire collection.
Some of the items left in trash are deeply personal.
Toys are a major theme in the collection.
Nothing is too sacred for the trash. Religious symbols abound.
Fruit plates get a second chance in the Treasures in Trash collection.
Trash to treasure, ping!
The collection is YUGE!
Very cool!!
I’m sure he has something I’d like . Just curious, the trash department allows picking through junk? The family photos. My wife and I attended auctions for years. Always sad to see someone’s family photos going to the trash.
Hector the Garbage Collector
These two would vapor lock in there...
That would be one of my versions of heaven
Watch out, De Slobio will confiscate it.
Very artfully arranged. People would pay money to see much less.
Whenever I see vast collections of debris such as this...it makes me not want to own stuff. I guess it helps that I have just completed a task where as part of a lawsuit (I am not a party but I supervise the “workout” effort) I have spent over 300 hours over the past several months clearing out two residences owned by a hoarder lady.
Per our estimates, she spent over $400K at the Home Shopping Network buying Lady Diana dolls (over 40 of them complete with spare tiaras, and little bitty pairs of high heels) and the entire Joan Rivers jewelry collection and several other of their jewelry collections, kilotons of fine china which had to be carefully packed, and giant amounts of pure debris. Most of it went into a dumpster. Actually 5 dumpsters and 2 qty 10 x 20 storage spaces upon which she now pays $600/mo storage.
I had more than modest anger at the situation because for $400K I could have started about 5 businesses and lived reasonably well while they came on line.
I know of people who make a living from picking the trash for antiques, furniture, collectibles, jewelry, scrap metal, and the like. It can be a lot of work, but there is always the chance for big payouts for lucky finds. And that happens more than you might think.
My Strange Inheritance?
Wow, one man’s trash really another man’s treasure.
That is very cool and interesting. BUT it looks like the taxpayers are paying for the huge space occupied by this stuff? Who gets to decide how to spend the money?
Cool
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