Bitonto sanitation workers recover 1 million euro lottery ticket

Sanitation workers in Bitonto, Italy, successfully recovered a winning lottery ticket worth 1 million euros after it was accidentally thrown into the trash. The incident occurred when a woman mistakenly believed she had not won after a local shop's machine displayed a “cannot pay” message, a common occurrence when a prize is too large for a small retailer to process.

After a family member identified the winning numbers, the woman realized her mistake, but the trash had already been collected. Roberto Nicola Toscano, manager of the waste management company SANB, stated that the company tracked the specific garbage truck and moved it to a specialized facility to avoid hazardous material exposure. Following a day of intensive searching, workers found the ticket in “intact” condition. The woman has committed to reimbursing the company for the costs incurred during the search operation.