When recycling goes bad

While recycling may have earned its reputation as a hobby of earnest do-gooders, the NYT reports this week that thieves in Philly and Phoenix (as well as other cities not starting with Ph) are stealing manhole covers weighing over 100 pounds in order to sell them for $15-$20 at scrap yards, turning area streets into slalom courses of warning cones. Fortunately for New York drivers, Con Ed's manhole covers weigh in at a whopping 300 pounds, making them a bit harder to pilfer.

Meanwhile, in San Francisco, other illegal recyclers are stealing used cooking oil to brew biodiesel to fuel their eco-friendly cars. Really, you couldn't make this stuff up...