A Grand Falls-Windsor woman found herself staring at 55 bags of garbage this week — hoping to single out the bag that contained jewelry she'd accidentally thrown away.

Crystal Tibbo cleaned her six rings with jewelry cleaner Tuesday, and then laid them to dry on a paper towel on the kitchen counter.

That night, she put the garbage out for collection the next day. The paper towel containing her rings, including her engagement ring and wedding band, were in the trash bag.

It wasn't until Wednesday that Tibbo discovered what had happened — after the truck had already picked up the garbage from her street. Tibbo's garbage was en route to the Norris Arm waste facility about 40 kilometres away.

"Panic mode set in," said Tibbo. "I was hyperventilating."

Luckily, Tibbo was able to connect with town staff before the truck dumped everything into the landfill. She was told about 9,000 kilograms of garbage fits into one truck.

Tibbo said the truck was at the dump waiting for her — and after receiving approval to be inside the landfill site — she began the laborious task of searching through the garbage. She and one of the garbage men picked through dozens of bags.

"I'd say at about 55 bags of garbage, I found my rings," Tibbo said. "The garbage man who helped me was so nice, so helpful. When I found the rings, I jumped up and give him a big hug for being so co-operative with me."

In the wake of the experience, Tibbo has decided to throw away the jewelry cleaner. Instead, she'll get the local jewelry store to clean her rings from now on.