SORDID SORTERS' TALES

Let this one double up as a mystery photograph and also as a photo for today's entry. Do you know what it is? Is it something that can be recycled?

I read an interesting article on how to recycle anything, and there were a few interesting tales from people working on the "front lines" of recycling facilities.

• In one box of stuff, there was a WW I ordnance which was still live. It came from a house that was being torn down. Eventually the police were called and the bomb squad came. They shut down the street and brought in a bomb-disposal robot, but it failed. They finally took it to a landfill and blew it up there.


• A guy who worked at a crematorium brought in a metal hip that remained at the bottom of the incinerator. Titanium is expensive, and no one is going to say, "Can I have grandma's hip back?"


• A sorter was pushing some cardboard through the balers and happened to see some plastic that needed to be removed. Suddenly he noticed the bag was moving. Turns out someone had wrapped up a large rattlesnake in the plastic bag and had thrown it into the trash. The sorter managed to free it and let it go.

Along with these tales, there are some wonderful suggestions for recycling.

Prescription Drugs: The Starfish Project (http://www.thestarfishproject.org/) collects some unused medications (TB medicines, antifungals, antivirals) and gives them to clinics in Nigeria. They'll send you a prepaid FedEx label, too.

Wheelchairs: Go to www.lifenets.org/wheelchairs which acts as a matchmaker, uniting wheelchairs with those who need them.

FedEx: Paper FedEx envelopes can be recycled, and there's no need to pull off the plastic sleeve. FedEx Paks made of Tyvek are also recyclable.

Tyvek: DuPont, the maker of Tyvek, takes these envelopes back and recycles them into plastic lumber. Turn one envelope inside out and stuff others inside it. Mail them to Tyvek Recycle, Attention: Shirley B. Wright, 2400 Elliham Ave. #A, Richmond, VA. 23237.

Plastic Bottle Caps: Toss them. They're made from a plastic that melts at a different rate than the bottles, and they degrade the quality of the plastic if they get mixed in.