A Feel Good Garbage Story: Sanitation Workers Help Man Find Wallet He Threw Away

A man who realized that he accidentally threw away his wallet in a Manhattan trash can last week was reunited with his credit cards and cash on Monday after the Department of Sanitation held the truck for days.

Avrohom Levitt's wallet somehow fell into a shopping bag, which he then threw into a trash can at West 168th Street on Friday. It wasn't until days later, on Sunday, that he realized the wallet was gone: "I felt disappointed and upset but at the same time I was trying to work on myself to have more faith and have a positive attitude," Levitt told the NY Post.

The tabloid reports that Levitt went to a Newark, NJ, waste transfer station on Monday to try to find the wallet. Working to his advantage was the fact that he had previously put a tracking device in his wallet to help him locate its precise location (Levitt apparently "tends to lose things a lot"). From the Post:

Once he was near the truck, Levitt tried to see if his app would recognize the device — but nothing.

So a sanitation worker dumped out 20 to 30 garbage bags gradually for Levitt to sift through — until he dug out his wallet — which contained $68 dollars in cash, some credit cards and his toddler’s passport card.

“We were literally on a pile of refuse and God lifted us up,” Levitt said. “I felt so excited I couldn’t believe it.”

Department of Sanitation Belinda Mager told Gothamist that if you realize that you've accidentally thrown something valuable away in the trash, you can call 311 and find out which garage the trash was headed to. Then, Sanitation will secure the truck and find a place where everything can be dumped out for the person to search for their item, she said. The key is to contact 311 pretty quickly.

Levitt told the Post all the Sanitation workers were "the kindest and sweetest." Unfortunately, he says his wallet still smells.