People often keep all kinds of random junk in their garages, but sometimes, you'll find a real gem beneath the rubble.

When an employee at a moving company was asked to clean out someone's garage, they were able to salvage a vintage stereo receiver that was quite popular at one point, sparking envy among commenters on Reddit.

What happened?

In the r/vintageaudio subreddit, the poster detailed the story of how they stumbled upon a Pioneer SX-3800 in a client's home. 

After spotting the system at the bottom of a box, they decided to take it home without a second thought. Unfortunately, after giving it a good cleaning and plugging it into speakers, they couldn't get the audio working. But, the original poster said they would keep it on the shelf with other electronics that needed service, and asked for advice on how to fix their new treasure. 

In the photos they uploaded, the system certainly doesn't look 30 to 40 years old. Aside from the wood grain finish, it actually looks pretty sleek and modern. 

Reddit users in a different thread attested to its high quality and clean sound, so it seems the OP got quite lucky. 

"Wow you found a great gem, it will certainly be worth listening to after a little TLC," one user said. 

"Great find and well done on bringing it back to life!" someone else said. 

"TV repair guys can fix these," another suggested. 

Why does e-waste matter?

While all the tech enthusiasts were rightfully excited about the OP's find, the downside is that the homeowner was otherwise planning to simply toss it in the trash. 

What do you usually do with your old electronics? Store them at home 📦 Donate them 🙏 Trade them for cash 🤝 Throw them away 🗑️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Not only would that deprive someone of getting to enjoy the system, but it also would contribute to electronic waste — one of the worst forms of pollution today. 

In some ways, it's even more harmful than plastic, since it leaches heavy metals into the environment and is notoriously difficult to recycle. 

Plus, there's also the massive economic impact of e-waste to consider, as all of those valuable metals are squandered when electronics aren't recycled. 

The accounting firm Ernst and Young reported that at least $57 billion is lost each year because important raw materials such as gold, copper, and iron aren't recovered. That means higher costs for businesses since more minerals will have to be mined, but also higher costs for the planet. 

Unfortunately, the vast majority of e-waste ends up in landfills, despite efforts to ramp up recovery and recycling. 

The World Health Organization reported that in 2022, 68 million tons of e-waste were generated globally, yet only around 22% was recycled. The rest is incinerated, landfilled, or goes to informal recycling centers in poor countries that don't have the infrastructure to manage waste properly. 

Are companies doing anything about this?

Some major brands such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Apple offer trade-in programs in which customers can bring in old electronics to exchange for store credit or cash back. If any items aren't eligible for credit, the retailers will recycle them for free. 

What else is being done about e-waste?

The startup Trashie is known for its innovative clothing recycling process, but it has now launched the Tech Take Back Box to help people clean out old electronics from their homes while getting awesome rewards like discounted movie tickets in return. 

You can easily make money on your old gadgets by either selling them online or bringing them into select tech retailers. Or, if you'd rather recycle them, check out Earth911 to find an e-waste dumpster near you.

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