Italian waste workers recover €1m lottery ticket from trash

In southern Italy, a man inadvertently discarded a winning lottery ticket, later finding it in a pile of municipal rubbish.

A local shop in Bitonto told a customer that her ticket was “non‑payable,” a message that appeared when the prize exceeded the shop’s ability to cash it out. The customer threw the ticket in a bin before she realised she’d discarded a potential prize.

He was made aware months later when the numbers she normally selects were drawn. The family traced the ticket’s path, discovering it was collected by the city’s waste service.

The driver of the bin lorry was located before the load was compacted and destroyed. The refuse company promptly transported the truck to a special site and began a two‑day search for the small card hidden among damaged trash.

A waste worker finally uncovered the intact ticket on Tuesday morning, beside other damaged ones. Roberto Nicola Toscano, director of the local sanitation company, described the venture as “miraculous.”

The recovery cost will be borne by the winner, who had signed a declaration agreeing to cover expenses. In a lighthearted moment, the team drew a scratch card and won €50.