New Horizons Player's Lucky Find Proves You Need to Check Your Recycling Box More

The recycling box is a staple of the series, and the recycling box is Animal Crossing: New Horizons is no different, with one lucky gamer recently proving why it's essential to regularly check your recycling. Located in Resident Services, the recycling bin can typically be filled with low-value items like cardboard boxes or rusty parts, but there's always a chance you'll find something of value – especially if you recently said goodbye to a villager or renovated your island.

Editor Freekwenzee-tan recently took to the Animal crossing forum to share what might be the luckiest find ever in any recycling bin. Sharing a screenshot, the user revealed their shock at finding nothing less than a Royal Crown in their box, which can be purchased from Able Sisters for an eye-watering 1.2 million bells. As the most expensive item in Animal Crossing: New HorizonsIt's no wonder Freekwenzee-tan took to Reddit to query his discovery – and luckily, it seems there's an obvious explanation for the rare discovery.

How did New Horizons' most expensive item end up in recycling?

Reddit discovered this

If you're hoping to find a Royal Crown in your recycling box, you're probably out of luck. While some of the post's commenters hope to discover that it is possible for the game to randomly gift such a valuable item, the user PhraseCareful3246 has the real reason. “My guess is that you bought this, left it on the floor, forgot about it, and then built something on top of the item. AND, In case you didn't know, when this happens the item ends up in the recycling bin.”, they commented, to which the OP replied that yes, now they remember that.

As is often the case with revelations like the ones above, many ACNH fans were surprised to learn that building on an item – or using the Clean Up service – will cause it to end up in the recycling bin. This is actually the case, according to Nookipedia. The recycling box works by offering the chance to receive “three clays, three iron nuggets, a small piece of furniture, a piece of clothing, a bag of flowers, a sapling, a cedar sapling, wallpaper or trash.“It is also possible to receive a clothing item, a rusty item, a cardboard box, and the clothes or wallpaper of a villager who recently moved. As for whether any in-game items may appear in the recycling box, it appears that No, so finding a Royal Crown by chance is not likely to happen.

Never forget to check your recycling box

Add to your to-do list

Even though the recycling box doesn't offer items worth millions of bells, it's still worth a regular visit to Resident Services to check what's inside. There are several exclusive items available only in the boxand while none are as exciting or valuable as a Royal Crown, they are still necessary if you want to complete your item catalog. Some of the more basic items—like clay, iron nuggets, and cardboard boxes—are really useful materials to have in bulk for crafting, and the recycling bin is an easy place to find them.

The Redditor's lucky save also highlights another reason to check the box: if they hadn't done so, they would have lost the most valuable item in the game without even realizing their mistake! It's worth getting into the habit of checking the recycling box every time you finish an island renovation, not just for items, but to make sure you haven't accidentally thrown away a valuable item. Animal Crossing: New Horizons possession.

Source: Freekwenzee-tan/Reddit, SentenceCareful3246/Reddit, Nookipedia