I'm building a powerful machine to run the latest MasterCAM, which is used for 3D programming for CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Milling machines. It will be used for programming complex molds for plastic injection molding machines.

So, stuff has been coming in, and my floor is covered in Whale Intestines.

Years ago I received a large amount of telephone equipment for a client. Many boxes, all packed with 6 inch wide chains of puffy clear transparent plastic pillows, many feet long.

Now it happened that not many days before, my annual 15 minutes of TV was a documentary on our Arctic friends (whatever they want to be called these days). They had just finished cleaning, and were hanging out to dry, a large amount of Whale Intestines, from which to make rain coats. They were about 6 inches wide, transparent, a bit puffy, and many feet long.

These looked exactly like the stuff piled all over my floor, so I have called that packing material "Whale Intestines" ever since.

Yes, it is so marked - but two things may make that beside the point.

1. The plastic recycling systems in this country aren't working at all well at recycling just about anything.

2. This stuff weighs just about nothing, so it's not going to get much attention for recycling.

It's main "recycling" is in re-use as shipping dunnage. I use as much as I can for that, but I don't ship anywhere near what I receive.

But, there is a bright side to the failure to recycle plastics. Think of all the carbon it sequesters which might otherwise be out there contributing to Global Warming.