Entrepreneurs in the booming 'influencer capital of the South' are making six-figure salaries by diving into dumpsters and turning other people's unwanted trash into cold, hard cash.
asserted
Entrepreneurs → make → cash
For Nashville hustler Carter Stevens, 31, garbage has proved so lucrative that it helped drag him from homelessness and crushing debt to a six-figure income in just two years.
Behind the Tennessee capital's gleaming luxury apartment towers, Stevens hunts through enormous steel dumpsters for designer clothes, expensive furniture, electronics and other discarded treasures that can be flipped online.
asserted
that → prove → clothes
His hauls have included a Gucci bag, BAPE sneakers, a Louis Vuitton shirt and even a 65-inch television - all apparently tossed aside by their former owners.
asserted
hauls → include → owners
On one recent expedition, Stevens spotted dresses hanging over the side of a dumpster alongside a marble table and the enormous TV.
asserted
Stevens → spot → table
Despite a warning sticker reading 'Keep Off!' Stevens climbed onto the container and checked first for bugs, one of the few things capable of derailing his treasure hunt.
asserted
Stevens → read → hunt
Stevens hates insects and is allergic to cats, but the potential payday lurking among the garbage has proved too tempting to ignore.
asserted
payday → hat → garbage
He has documented some of his lucrative finds on TikTok.
asserted
He → document → TikTok
It is a bizarre business model fueled by the mountains of possessions Americans buy and then discard.
asserted
Americans → fuel → possessions
Carter Stevens, 31, has gone from being homeless and buried in debt to earning six figures by digging through other people's trash and selling the treasures he finds
Steven's dumpster-diving empire began after he spotted 190 expensive Steelcase office chairs being thrown away, hauling them off and making around $17,000 in profit within six weeks
Stevens' top online sales included highly specialized electronics worth thousands of dollars, including a professional video-production system that sold for $2,500 and cue system that fetched $1,500
And in Nashville where aspiring stars and social media influencers pour into the city in search of careers, fame and new lives the finds are proving extremely lucrative.
asserted
finds → go → careers
Others are the same trendy products promoted by influencers on TikTok.
asserted
Others → promote → TikTok
One white Simply Southern dress he pulled from a dumpster even still had its $59.99 tag attached.
asserted
tag → pull → dumpster
He described his typical finds to the Washington Post as, 'all the stuff we use to fill the void.
asserted
we → describe → void
Growing up around wealth as the son of successful music producer Chris Stevens, he developed expensive tastes early, becoming fascinated with flashy shoes, designer clothes and cars.
asserted
he → grow → shoes
He eventually dropped out of college and found success selling vintage clothing near Vanderbilt University in Nashville, once spotting country superstar Kacey Musgraves browsing his racks.
asserted
Musgraves → drop → racks
'I made it,' he remembered thinking.
asserted
he → make → it
But instead of building savings, Stevens began spending.
asserted
Stevens → build → savings
'I screwed myself,' he admitted.
asserted
he → screw → myself
Stevens hauled away the 190 chairs using a trailer he had built just a few months earlier for his junk removal business
Stevens, seen above, grew up around wealth as the son of a successful Nashville music producer and soon developed expensive tastes of his own
Stevens has salvaged everything from designer clothes and shoes to furniture and electronics.
asserted
Stevens → haul → furniture
Sometimes the goods that have barely been used or are still in their original packaging
Stevens found unworn and unused clothing following a college move out at the end of the summer semester
Among the designer goods Stevens has unearthed are Balenciaga pool slides, similar versions of which retail for around $450 a pair
He struggled with drugs, including Adderall, and went to rehab for a week in 2021.
asserted
He → use → 2021
Yet another he remained addicted to buying things.
asserted
he → remain → things
Stevens splashed out $1,200 on Christian Dior Birkenstocks, $10,000 on a camping van and drove a Mercedes-AMG that cost an eye-watering $3,100 a month with insurance.
asserted
that → splash → insurance
'I just woke up itching for stuff,' he said.
asserted
he → wake → stuff
At its worst, his monthly spending topped $15,000.
asserted
spending → top → 15,000
When his vintage business declined, the lifestyle collapsed with it.
asserted
lifestyle → decline → it
Stevens slept inside his storage unit until he was warned he could be thrown out.
uncertain
he → sleep → unit
He stayed with his parents before spending three weeks living inside a Nissan Sentra.
asserted
He → stay → Sentra
Eventually, a cousin loaned him enough money to secure an apartment.
asserted
cousin → loan → apartment
Then came the discovery that would change everything.
asserted
that → come → everything
Leaving a Goodwill store last November, Stevens noticed workers dumping dozens of office chairs outside a nearby warehouse.
asserted
workers → leave → warehouse
He discovered they were Steelcase chairs - expensive pieces selling for hundreds of dollars apiece online.
asserted
they → discover → dollars
Stevens returned with a trailer and collected 190 of them.
asserted
Stevens → return → them
Carter Stevens is pictured with his dad Chris Stevens, a five-time Grammy winner who has written songs for country stars including Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood
Chris Stevens, right is seen alongside wife, Nancy.
asserted
Stevens → picture → wife
Their son Carter grew up surrounded by success but was taught that he needed to work for the things he wanted
This $800 e-bike battery complete with charger had been tossed away, only for Stevens to salvage it and make some money for himself
Suddenly, trash was a business.
asserted
trash → grow → himself
Within six weeks, he had sold all but 40 to liquidators and pocketed about $17,000 in profit - enough to clear his credit-card debt and repay his cousin.
asserted
he → sell → cousin
Stevens began searching warehouses, hotels, apartment complexes and shopping centers.
asserted
Stevens → begin → warehouses
He also launched a junk-removal operation, collecting couches, standing desks, lamps and even iPads.
asserted
He → launch → couches
After just six weeks, his eBay sales reached $30,000.
asserted
sales → reach → 30,000
On one occasion, a security guard allegedly confronted him with a gun drawn.
uncertain
guard → confront → gun
But Stevens insisted to his concerned parents: 'I'm providing a service.'
asserted
I → insist → service
His father Chris, a five-time Grammy winner who has written songs for stars including Kenny Chesney and Carrie Underwood, admitted the unusual career could be frightening.
uncertain
career → write → Chesney
…and 9 more, not listed.
The Aporia
