Mystery as 500 pounds of cooked spaghetti, ziti and elbow macaroni are found dumped in New Jersey woods
Holy macaroni! Mystery as 500lb Massive Heaps of Cooked Spaghetti, Ziti and Elbow Macaroni Are Found Dumped Next to New Jersey
- A New Jersey resident discovered mounds of pasta near a stream while hiking
- Local attorney Nina Jochnowitz posted the viral photos of the unusual sight, prompting local public works to clean it up
- Who dumped the boiled noodles, and why, remains a mystery
A New Jersey town has an unusual mystery on its hands after 500 pounds of cooked spaghetti, ziti, and elbow macaroni were found dumped along a stream.
The bizarre pollution was discovered last month when a resident noticed the peculiar piles of pasta while walking through the wooded area near their home in Old Bridge Township.
The resident initially contacted their council to report the dump and then contacted local attorney Nina Jochnowitz, who previously ran for city council in the Sixth Ward.
Jochnowitz told DailyMail.com, “The resident thought it was hay at first, but when they got closer, they saw it was tons of cooked pasta.”
She sent her own email to the council, but when she didn’t hear back either, she took matters into her own hands and went to the site to take pictures. She posted the mountains of carbs on her public Facebook page for locals to eat.
Within hours, public works cleared away the unnecessary noodles, but the perpetrator and their motive were still unknown.
The bizarre discovery came last month when a resident taking a walk through the wooded area near their home in Old Bridge Township spotted the curious spot.
When the resident did not hear from the municipality after reporting the dump, they contacted local attorney Nina Jochnowitz, who previously ran for municipal council in the Sixth Ward.’ She said the resident thought it was hay at first, but as they got closer they saw it was tons of cooked pasta
Jochnowitz praised Public Works Director Kasey Lenning for their response, but took the opportunity to note the public cleaning problems in the area, which she said has become an eyesore and a “dumping ground” where garbage is thrown.
“We are the only city in Middlesex County that has failed to collect large amounts of garbage for its residents,” she said. “This has been going on for at least ten years.”
Old Bridge Township in Middlesex County has a population of 66,000.
‘Rijkswaterstaat cleared it up. They are a great group of people. When they get the right opportunity, they do the right thing,” she said. “Unfortunately, they are usually overwhelmed.”
The garbage issue was a bone of contention with many of the residents and with Jochnowitz when she ran for office.
‘The major [Owen Henry] thinks the $20 each homeowner costs is too much money and I brought it up when I ran for city council and it’s been a conversation for years.
Local attorney Nina Jochnowitz, who previously ran for city council in the sixth ward, was the person who worked to solve the mystery of the Old Bridge Township pasta gate
While the mystery of who dumped the pasta and why remains unsolved, Jochnowitz says she hopes the bizarre occurrence can raise awareness of contamination problems and environmental neglect.
“As humorous as it is, it’s also very sad,” Jochnowitz said.
“Unfortunately, it reflects a bigger problem in the country: waste and gluttony. Look what’s going on in our oceans…the animals think of it as just another piece of land.’
In the meantime, her photos of the ziti and macaroni mounds turned into a viral sensation on Reddit and Twitter on Tuesday.
“We need to send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary,” said one of the main comments on the New Jersey subreddit thread.
‘Don’t know. If we do, I am Alfredo what will happen to them,” another user replied.