Penne for your thoughts: Hundreds of pounds of pasta dumped along NJ stream
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. (CBS) -- It's a story giving new meaning to a "penne" for your thoughts.
Photos posted to social media show hundreds of pounds of pasta dumped along a stream in an Old Bridge neighborhood.
The photos, which have gone viral on social media, were posted by Nina Jochnowitz, a community advocate.
She said someone dumped the pasta along the stream, which was left for several days before a neighbor called Jochnowitz for help cleaning it up.
"That's kind of funny, humorous, everything else," Jochnowitz said.
She said after multiple people made calls and left messages, Old Bridge Township's Department of Public Works came out to clean up the mess.
Old Bridge, New Jersey is going viral after someone dumped hundreds of pounds of pasta along a stream in the township. The mess has since been cleaned up, but a community advocate says this is representative of a larger problem. The story at 5:30 pm @CBSPhiladelphia. pic.twitter.com/ccpT2yQgP3
— Brandon Goldner (@GoldnerTV) May 4, 2023
Jochnowitz said the incident is representative of a larger issue: the township doesn't have bulk garbage pick-up.
"Because we don't have pick-up, we have dumps," Jochnowitz said. "The funny dump this time was pasta."
She hopes all the attention the pasta dump is getting will convince township leaders to invest in bulk trash pick-up.
"We have bulk garbage," Jochnowitz said. "We need to have this addressed by the township. They haven't addressed it."
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection said it's not involved in the pasta clean-up.
CBS News Philadelphia requested interviews with the township's mayor and business administrator, but a township employee said the two officials were not available Thursday.