Italian refuse collectors help recover €1m lottery ticket
A woman in Italy successfully recovered a one-million-euro winning lottery ticket after it was accidentally discarded in the trash. Refuse collectors tracked the truck and searched through waste to retrieve the ticket, which remained intact.
Why it matters
The story serves as a human-interest piece highlighting the cooperation between public services and citizens in extraordinary circumstances.
A one-million-euro lottery ticket was recovered from the bin in Italy after the frantic winner called on refuse collectors to help her retrieve it, the waste management company said.
The instant win ticket was "miraculously still in one piece" after refuse workers combed through mounds of trash on their truck, said Roberto Nicola Toscano, the administrator of the SANB company in Italy's southern Puglia region.
Mr Toscano explained how when the winner went on Sunday to check her ticket at her local shop after the drawing, the machine indicated it was "non-payable". That was because smaller retailers can only redeem small wins.
But the woman - who remains anonymous - did not realise she had won the big jackpot.
"The winner always played the same numbers, as they were associated with a loved one," said Mr Toscano.
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