The Oscars red carpet was in a skip. Then a woman took it home for her flat. What else could be repurposed?

A dumpster-diving TikToker struck gold the morning after the Academy Awards. But why are they binning carpets after one brief use? And where can we find the uneaten chocolate Oscars?

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he Oscars are over, and the world has moved on. No longer are we debating the merits of any particular film, or the validity of any given win. Now there are only two sets of people who care about the Oscars; the agents of the winners, who are all busy renegotiating their clients’ contracts, and amateur Los Angeles-based carpet fitter Paige Thalia.

Thalia found a small amount of viral fame this week, after she discovered the Oscars red carpet languishing in a skip the morning after the ceremony, and decided to kit out her home with it.

The story goes that, prior to the Oscars, while out on a walk, Thalia noticed rolls and rolls of pristine red carpet still encased in plastic wrapping. This made her wonder what happens to the carpet after the awards, which in turn sent her out on a mission around the back of the Dolby Theatre on Monday morning. While filming herself for TikTok, Thalia found a giant (and clean) skip filled with dozens of rolled-up pieces of carpet. “These are huge. Is it insane to take a huge piece?” she asked her viewers. Long story short, she now has a huge piece of the Oscars red carpet in her living room.