Hoarding and Dumpster Diving -- America's Greatest Activities

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, DCist:

MAR 27, 8:54 AM

Morning Roundup: Rats Are About To Go Into ‘Panic Mode’ Because Of Coronavirus Shutdowns
Elliot C. Williams

NEWS

A Recycling Company Just Discovered 36,000 N95 Masks in a Dumpster

A Maryland firm found 150 cases of the masks that someone threw away last year.

WRITTEN BY DANIELLA BYCK | PUBLISHED ON MARCH 25, 2020

For Beltsville recycling company Sun Services, the old cliche “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” rings true. While unloading dumpsters last year, partner Gary Shipp discovered 36,000 N95 masks amid the debris. He saved the protective gear, and now Shipp and his partners, Andrew Springer and son Brian Shipp, are donating them to local hospitals and nursing homes.

It’s not unusual to find an interesting item among the 500 to 600 tons of construction material dropped at the recycling facility each day. The junk typically includes hoses, power tools, and other miscellaneous items contractors throw away when they move to the next job.

When Gary spotted the 150 cases of N95 masks last year, the partners didn’t know the rubbish would turn out to be a lifesaving find. “He wants to save stuff all the time. And Brian and I were like, ‘Gary, you cannot keep saving all this stuff. We’ve got to throw it away,” Springer says.

Luckily, Gary didn’t heed their advice. Last Friday, he confessed to the partners that he had in fact kept the masks. By that afternoon, the team made their first drop-off at Virginia Hospital Center.

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[customerserviceguy]

1. The amount of waste

in this country is appalling. As long as someone else is paying for things that are trashed, most firms don't give a rat's ass.

[33taw]

2. They may have an expiration date.