San Francisco residents digging into the rubbish of billionaire neighbors to make a living

In San Francisco, residents are rummaging through their billionaire neighbors' trash and selling the "treasures" they found to survive, The New York Times reports.

Фото: Depositphotos

One man whom New York Times introduced as 56-year-old war veteran Jake Orth, lives in government-subsidized housing next to the home of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, worth about $ 10 million.

Orta was born in San Antonio, Texas and was one of the 12 children in the family. For more than ten years, he served in the US Air Force, refueling aircraft during the Gulf War in 1991. He was also in Germany, Korea and Saudi Arabia. By the time the man returned to the United States, his wife left him. Later, Orta was treated for alcoholism and became homeless. The man moved to San Francisco and five years ago received the right to participate in a program to help homeless veterans.

In the evenings, he is armed with a flashlight and goes in search of "treasure" in the Zuckerberg bin.

In the trash can of Facebook’s CEO, Orta discovered a hairdryer, a vacuum cleaner and a coffee machine (everything is in working condition), and an iPad in another tank.

“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” says the veteran.

Everything that a veteran finds, he sells, earning from $ 30 to $ 40 per day. The average income from such activities is about $ 300 per week.

The publication notes that garbage collection in California is considered illegal, since the contents of garbage cans on the sidewalk are the property of a garbage collection company, but this law is rarely applied in practice.

The trend of garbage collection illustrates the growing disparity between rich and poor residents of San Francisco.

An analysis of US census data showed that the gap between the average incomes of different classes in San Francisco is $ 339 900.

In the city, many people collect billionaire garbage: Blogger Financial Panther has posted a post on how to make more than $ 1000 by selling items he found in a dumpster in the garage of a luxury apartment building. Among them were a coffee table, bar stools and clothing with tags.

However, for some people, searching for “treasures” in other people's trash cans is more of a hobby than a way to make a living. The New York Post wrote about an elderly woman who owns more than $8 million in real estate in New York City, but still collects things from trash cans for fun.

As for Orta, he considers himself to be a treasure hunter: “What amazes me is what people throw out.” Last night, he found a pair of designer jeans, Nike sneakers, and a bike pump.

“You never know what you’ll find,” he said.

Recall that 46% of Bay Area residents in California tired from exorbitant prices in the region and plan to move in the next few years.

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