An annoyingly simple idea that demonstrates if you have a good one, do something about it...
http://nycgarbage.com/
This from the Guardian:
"If the package looks pretty, people will buy just about anything. So says an advertising executive in New York, and he has proved his point by selling boxes of rubbish for the price of an expensive bottle of wine. Justin Gignac, 26, has offloaded almost 900 carefully presented plastic cubes of trash from the street of the Big Apple at between $50 (£26) and $100 each. Buyers from 19 countries have paid for the souvenirs. The idea has been so successful that he is thinking of franchising it around the world. It all began when Mr Gignac was on a summer internship at MTV. "We had a discussion about the importance of packaging," he recalls. "Someone said packaging was unimportant. I disagreed. The only way to prove it was by selling something nobody would ever want." He scours the streets of Manhattan and New York's outer boroughs, typical contents include broken glass, subway tickets, Starbucks cups and used plastic forks. "Special editions" are offered at a premium. He charged $100 for rubbish from the opening day of the New York Yankees' stadium. Mr Gignac denies taking his customers for fools: "They know what they're getting. People get a kick out of it - they appreciate the fact that they're taking something nobody would want and finding beauty in it." Typical customers include people who used to live in the city and want a down-to-earth souvenir. He claims he has even sold to art collectors. Realising that the concept appears to be a genuine moneyspinner, Mr Gignac has registered a company and is employing his girlfriend as vice president. He declines to discuss his profit margins: "It's actually quite a lot of effort putting them together - but yes, garbage is free." Mr Gignac is considering diversifying into trash wallhangings. He maintains that he has been contacted by people interested in replicating the scheme from as far a field as Berlin and London."