One person’s trash may be another’s treasure – on Amazon

Amazon is taking action following reports of trash being resold on its third-party seller platform.

Following up on an original report in the Wall Street Journal, Business Insider said some Amazon sellers have been cleaning up and repackaging products salvaged from dumpsters and then selling them on Amazon. These products have reportedly included keyboards and humidifiers. Wall Street Journal reporters tested the process and said they successfully resold items found in the trash via Amazon, including a container of lemon curd.

After the Journal article was published, Amazon specifically updated its third-party seller policies to ban any items from the trash from being sold on its platform. The e-tailer said selling trash was already in violation of its seller code of conduct, which requires that sellers be fair, honest and safe in their dealings on the site.

"Any negligent and potentially illegal activity by a few bad actors is unfair to the vast majority of exceptional sellers,” an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider. “We have expanded the scope of our existing supply chain verification efforts including increased spot checks of source documentation to ensure seller compliance with our policies. We will take appropriate action against the bad actors involved, including possible legal action."