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Mysterious yellow powder on recycling bin

Heymatt:

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I’ve noticed a yellow powder accumulating on the blue recycling bins in various parts of the city. What is it? I haven’t seen it on the black trash cans.

— Observer, via email

I was a little in the dark on this one, since we don’t have the offending powder showing up anywhere near the Alice facilities. Grandma didn’t shy away from expressing herself on the matter, muttering something about people “needing better hobbies,” but I didn’t want to give in so easily. I checked with the city and with some of the city’s major waste removal contractors, and I got a whole bunch of confused waste management executives wondering why I was pestering them trying to find out about a mysterious yellow powder with an affinity for recycling bins. I poked and prodded them until I finally got some consensus. The word of the day is “pollen.” Blue recycling bins provide the perfect high-contrast background for yellow pollen to show up brightly whenever it’s floating about in the air, causing hay fever and other mischief. You could always try sniffiing some up your nose and seeing if it makes you sneeze, but I can’t recommend that with any kind of a clean conscience.

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Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

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Heymatt:

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I’ve noticed a yellow powder accumulating on the blue recycling bins in various parts of the city. What is it? I haven’t seen it on the black trash cans.

— Observer, via email

I was a little in the dark on this one, since we don’t have the offending powder showing up anywhere near the Alice facilities. Grandma didn’t shy away from expressing herself on the matter, muttering something about people “needing better hobbies,” but I didn’t want to give in so easily. I checked with the city and with some of the city’s major waste removal contractors, and I got a whole bunch of confused waste management executives wondering why I was pestering them trying to find out about a mysterious yellow powder with an affinity for recycling bins. I poked and prodded them until I finally got some consensus. The word of the day is “pollen.” Blue recycling bins provide the perfect high-contrast background for yellow pollen to show up brightly whenever it’s floating about in the air, causing hay fever and other mischief. You could always try sniffiing some up your nose and seeing if it makes you sneeze, but I can’t recommend that with any kind of a clean conscience.

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Previous article

Gilbert Castellanos, Buddha Trixie, Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Shane Hall, Brian Jones Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival

Grand Socials, gigs, and record releases in Del Mar, City Heights, Solana Beach, Little Italy, and Ocean Beach
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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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