An Italian lottery player has recovered a €1 million winning ticket after accidentally discarding it in a shop bin. The unnamed winner in Bitonto, southern Italy, threw away the ticket after being told at the point of sale that it was “non-payable.” The confusion arose because retailers display this message when prize amounts exceed what they can distribute directly. The situation only became clear when family members informed the player that their regularly played numbers had been successfully drawn.
Upon realizing the mistake, the winner contacted the local waste collection company, which immediately located the refuse truck before its contents could be processed. Staff at SANB, the waste management operator, transported the vehicle to a dedicated facility for a thorough search. The recovery operation took two days before workers successfully identified the ticket among the accumulated debris on Tuesday morning. The winning ticket was discovered inside a deteriorated bag containing other damaged lottery slips.
Roberto Nicola Toscano, head of the waste company, described the recovery as “nothing short of miraculous,” noting that the operation only succeeded because it occurred on a Sunday before the truck’s load reached the landfill. He confirmed the winner had agreed to cover the search costs. Remarkably, the fortunate outcome appeared to bring good luck to the waste workers themselves—when company staff purchased a scratch card afterwards, they won €50.
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