I saved my very first game, a Gottlieb Spirit of '76 from the trash in 1988. I was studying Electrical Engineering at school and that year was a practical year for me, experiencing working at companies as a "rookie". One of my teachers had to go home early, because he needed to bring a pinball game to the trash. In stead of bringing it to the trash, he brought it to my home. Fortunately my mum wasn't at home, and at the time she was, it was already at the attic. No way back . I still own the game.
Marco