According to Deutsche Welle, a woman in Bitonto, southern Italy, mistakenly tossed a winning €1 million lottery ticket into a trash bin. Local sanitation workers uncovered the ticket after conducting a search that lasted several hours.
The ticket, which had been declared a winner in Italy’s national lottery, was recovered by the municipality’s sanitation company. The hours‑long search, prompted by the woman's realization that the discarded ticket was actually valuable, culminated in the safe return of the €1 million prize.
Incidents like this highlight how everyday mishaps can lead to significant losses and underscore the importance of local municipal services in preventing such outcomes. The case also echoes similar reports of valuable items found in waste by sanitation workers.