The resident, who does not wish to be named, realised the box was missing on Sunday evening after her friend had been helping her clear out her cellar, so they made their way to the waste site, operated by Veolia Environmental Services on behalf of Bromley Council, very early on Monday morning.
They were spotted by site supervisor Mark Vallins at the gates of the site as he was opening up for the day. Mark's was alarmed to see how desperate they were to enter the site and so asked them to explain the situation to his manager, Steve Morris. Steve listened as the ladies described their predicament and set about helping with the hunt. Having searched through the piles of paper to no avail, to the ladies' immense relief the box and its contents were found safe and sound amongst the mound of cardboard.
The resident said: "I had almost given up looking for the money after four hours searching through cardboard, but the staff at the site, especially Steve Morris, were incredibly helpful, and we persevered. I told Steve that it was a matt black box, not shiny as I'd thought, and he immediately said "like this one?". He pointed at the box and I knew it was the one. I couldn't believe it when the money was still in there! I was so grateful to the staff, I never thought I'd see that money again".
Veolia's contract manager in Bromley, Nic Allan, said: "We are very pleased to have been able to rescue the resident’s cash and I would like to thank my staff for their diligence and sensitivity in handling and resolving what was undoubtedly a distressing situation for these ladies."
A box full of cash is not the most unusual item to have been found on site before though - site staff have reported finding wedding rings, car and house keys, and even the deeds to a house amongst the piles of materials!
Councillor Colin Smith, Bromley Council’s Executive Councillor for Environment, said: “Bromley’s paper and card recycling service is something we’ve long been proud of, all the more so now, given that this particular ‘paper’ was recovered in time and this story had a happy ending. A great job very well done by Veolia’s Mr Vallins and Mr Morris. I hope that your readers agree!”
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Contacts
For more information please contact:
Dan Lester
Communications Manager
Veolia Environmental Services (UK) Plc.
Contract House
Ashley Road Depot
Tottenham
London N17 9AZ
Tel: +44(0)7920 295 715
E: [email protected]