New York City’s Sanitation Department in East Harlem owns a building that looks like a treasure trove littered with other people’s trash.
The building is used as a depot for garbage trucks, but on the second floor there’s a secret collection that that is filled with a cornocopia of items. It’s called the Treasures in the Trashcollection and it was “curated” and collected by Nelson Molina, a now-retired sanitation worker.
He started by decorating his locker and over 30+ years, it grew into a visual compedium, organized by thing, color, size, etc. Website Atlas Obscura visited the collection took some photos and reported back.
This “museum” collection doesn’t really keep regular hours and drop-ins are not allowed. For more info on the occasional organized tour, you can email tours@dsny.nyc.gov.
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(Photos, Dylan Thuras; via Atlas Obscura)