10.11.2026 19:55
Carter Stevens, who at one point had to live in his car in the US because he could not pay his rent, earned about $140,000 (7 million TL) in a year by selling items he collected from the trash. The young man, who roamed the dumpsters of offices and luxury apartments, made $27,600 from the sale of just 190 office chairs he found in the trash. Stevens, who found many valuable items ranging from Persian rugs to samurai swords, said that almost all of the furniture in his home also came from the trash.
Carter Stevens, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States, makes a profit from items other people throw away. In the job he started in March 2024, Stevens, who visits the dumpsters of offices and luxury apartment buildings, collects usable products and sells them online. The young man's sales revenue between September 2025 and September 2026 reached approximately $140,000 (approximately 7 million TL).
HE MADE $27,600 FROM 190 CHAIRS
Stevens's most profitable find to date was the office chairs he found in a dumpster outside a business center.
Stevens, who found 190 office chairs whose new prices are over $1,000 (approximately 50,000 TL), transported the products with his second-hand pickup truck and a trailer he built himself.
He sold most of the chairs in bulk for $17,000 (approximately 854,000 TL). He also earned $10,600 (approximately 532,000 TL) from the sale of the remaining products, raising his total earnings to $27,600 (approximately 1,386,000 TL).
PERSIAN RUGS, SAMURAI SWORDS, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES...
Stevens, who has turned searching for valuable items in dumpsters into his daily job, said he has so far found handmade Persian rugs, samurai swords, luxury furniture, and electronic devices.
Stevens, who noted that items thrown out by offices, especially during periods when companies downsize, can bring high profits, said that he once found 120 standing desks.
He said that around luxury apartment buildings, he comes across furniture and technological devices. Stevens said, "Almost all the furniture in my apartment came out of the trash."
AT ONE POINT HE HAD TO LIVE IN HIS CAR
Behind Stevens's current earnings are years spent with financial problems.
Stevens, the son of a music producer with five Grammy Awards, said that during his university years he became addicted to a prescription stimulant and dropped out of school in 2018.
Stevens entered rehabilitation in 2021 with his family's support. Although he made progress toward quitting substance use, he continued his overspending habits.
He fell into financial difficulty because of his spending on luxury shoes, a large-screen television, and expensive cars. When he could not pay his rent in June 2023, he lived for a while in a rented storage unit and then for three weeks in his car.
Stevens, who stated that at that time he had about $12,000 (approximately 602,000 TL) in debt, said that what he went through changed his view of money management.
IT ALL STARTED WITH A PAIR OF SHOES HE FOUND IN THE TRASH
In October 2023, Stevens rented a home again with his cousin's help and continued selling online clothes he bought from second-hand stores to make a living.
In March 2024, he found shoes thrown in the trash near a gas station. After taking the shoes home and cleaning them, he sold them for $35 (approximately 1,758 TL).
Stevens described this experience with the words, "For the first time, I found something that was going to be thrown away, sold it, and made a little money."
After his first sale, Stevens began regularly searching dumpsters and soon started finding more valuable items.
HE EVEN FINDS PACKAGING MATERIALS IN THE TRASH
To keep his expenses low, Stevens mostly works in areas a few kilometers from his home.
He prefers dry dumpsters used by offices instead of dumpsters containing food waste. He says he gets permission in advance to collect items from some buildings and pays attention to private property warnings.
He uses a storage unit for which he pays $400 a month (approximately 20,000 TL) to store the products he will sell. He also reduces his expenses by mostly obtaining materials such as shipping boxes and packing tape from the trash.
"I DON'T THINK I'LL MAKE THIS MUCH EVERY YEAR"
Although he earned $140,000 in one year, Stevens is not sure this income will repeat every year.
Stevens, who stated that he earned most of his income from high-value sales made in just five months, said, "I was really lucky earlier this year and made a lot of money. I don't act like this is something I can do every year."
For this reason, he said he tries to save a significant portion of his money and is researching new business opportunities in real estate.
Still, Stevens, who stated that he does not intend to stop searching dumpsters for valuable items, said, "I don't think I'll ever turn down a dumpster that looks good."