The ecological turn of the last decade has led to a renewed interest in exploring found objects and reclaimed materials in the performing arts. For many scenographers, inspiration for repurposing these ‘leftovers’ comes from the serendipitous relationships that arise from them – a way of rethinking our connection with materials and challenging preconceptions about that which we throw away. This paper investigates key conceptual thinking and theoretical ideas around contemporary notions of materialism, value and upcycling through the scenographer's relationship with material vestiges and societal debris. Using examples from my practice-led research, I explore my own serendipitous and often uncanny relationship with ‘leftover’ things, including how their unique materiality and context informs my work. From the journey of ‘the find’ (recycle centres, tip shops, car boot sales, dumpster diving and road side pickups) to processes of making and transformation, I reveal how these discarded objects or ‘leftovers’ have inspired intimate and thrilling performance spaces. Through the process of becoming alert to the material's capacities and sensitivities, I examine how the once deemed ‘mundane’ and ‘undesirable’ can be saved from obscurity and transformed into objects and experiences of ‘higher purpose’. The paper demonstrates that we can renew our notions of debris and waste, and argues that ingenuity and creativity are fundamental components of sustainability. The notion of ‘leftovers’ challenges us to embrace the potential of ecological practice; to think about what is possible in a world of increasingly limited resources, rather than what is not.