"Diamonds Found in Trash"... 'A Miracle' as New York Sanitation Workers Search Through 9 Tons of Garbage

A Pair of Diamond Rings Lost After Four Generations
Sanitation Department: "Search Was Possible Because It Hadn't Reached the Transfer Station"
In Korea, Contact Authorities Before Trash Moves to Sudokwon Landfill Site

In New York, sanitation workers successfully retrieved a diamond ring that a man had accidentally thrown away, following a large-scale search operation.

Ring found in a pile of garbage. Photo by DSNY, New York City Sanitation Department

According to a report by NBC in the United States on August 10, the New York City Department of Sanitation received an urgent call on July 28 (local time) from a man residing in an apartment complex in Brooklyn, reporting the loss of a pair of diamond rings.

The rings, which had been thrown away by mistake, were heirlooms passed down through four generations. They were engagement rings adorned with diamonds set in gold and platinum, respectively. The man had accidentally disposed of them while cleaning up household trash.

Only realizing the loss later, the man rushed to the trash collection point just before the sanitation truck left and explained his situation to the workers, asking for their help.

The New York City Department of Sanitation responded quickly to the report. First, they secured the collection vehicle that had serviced the building. Then, to begin the search, they slowly emptied approximately 9 tons (20,000 pounds) of trash from the truck onto the floor of a concrete worksite.

Sanitation workers who found a ring in a pile of garbage. Photo by DSNY, New York City Sanitation Department

Miraculously, after just 10 minutes of meticulously searching through the pile, the sanitation workers found the ring. There were sighs of relief and cheers at the scene.

Through X (formerly Twitter), the New York City Department of Sanitation said, "It was like finding a needle in a haystack, but we're happy we recovered it safely."

The department added, "Had the collection truck moved on to the transfer station, the items would have gone straight to incineration or landfill, and they would never have been found." If the trash had already been unloaded at the intermediate transfer station, it would have become mixed with other waste, making recovery impossible.

A sanitation department official advised, "If you accidentally dispose of a valuable item, you should report it as quickly as possible to 311 (the New York City Service Center) so that the truck can be isolated." If notified in time, the department provides gloves, shovels, grabbers, and other equipment so the owner can participate in the search, and they estimate where the waste was loaded according to the collection route to assist with an efficient operation.

Domestic Waste Import Procedure Process. Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation Website

Meanwhile, in Korea, if you lose a valuable item, you should immediately notify the local district office's Resource Circulation Department or call the 120 Dasan Call Center to report the situation. If the collection vehicle has already passed through the neighborhood, you can visit the collection facility where the waste is gathered to check.

An official from the Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corporation told The Asia Business Daily, "Since the implementation of the Landfill Ban on Municipal Solid Waste on January 1 of this year—which prohibits directly burying household waste in pay-as-you-throw bags without sorting or incineration—it is no longer possible to bury garbage directly in the ground. Now, waste is brought to the Sudokwon Landfill Site in its processed form." The official further explained, "You have a chance at recovery only if you call before the garbage is transferred from the transshipment station to the broader incineration plant or Sudokwon landfill site."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.