Yesterday was our host Nitya's birthday, so we took the morning a bit easy and headed to town to run some errands, one of which was a trip to the recycling center. There's a spot in the kitchen that houses the "weird recycling," the stuff that can't get recycled in the regular bins that get picked up by waste management. We were curious to see where it, as well as a ton of other stuff from around the farm (scrap metal, a broken weather vane, a box of florescent light bulbs, something resembling a rusty anchor) actually ends up, so we packed the pickup truck full and took a field trip. Turns out in ends up in this equally weird and quirky independently owned recycling center, which just celebrated its 42nd year this Earth Day. 

Upon entering the parking lot and paying the $8 fee to drop off our recycling, we were welcomed by the sight of this peacock, who apparently lives at the recycling center. He was really proud to show off to all the visitors. 

I'm not sure how they managed to acquire a recycling center peacock, but the juxtaposition of him with all the junk here was perfect. We could have just spent all day taking pictures of him with different piles of stuff. 

This place was a haven for found materials art. 

There was a pile here for everything. Thankfully Nitya knew her way around, but there were also lots of helpful employees around to help you sort your #1 plastics from your #6's, your styrofoam from your lids, and your electronics from your metals. 

They compress and bundle things like plastic bottles and cardboard boxes, which I assume they then ship off...

...but they also have massive collections of stuff for sale you can browse through, set up in old truck trailers and under various makeshift shelters. Of course I could have spent all day in the book trailer. 

Dave was especially fond of the eyeglass bins. This place would be perfect for anyone looking for supplies for an art project. We could have spent an entire day browsing around. 

The peacock does spend whole days shopping and checking out all the new finds. 

We admit it. We are obsessed with trash. It's fascinating what people throw away, and how other people are able to see it with fresh eyes and utilize it. I'm so happy this place exists to save so much trash from ending up in the landfills. I hope they enjoy another 42 years of turning one person's trash to another's treasure.