The Clue in the Recycling Bin by Gertrude Chandler Warner Page B

didn’t see any paintings. They didn’t see any clay.
    Henry noticed a table and stool. On the table were small pieces of metal. He saw copper wire and a small soldering iron. “You make jewelry,” said Henry.
    â€œYes!” said Kayla, clapping her hands. She seemed very happy that Henry had guessed what kind of artist she was. “I find small pieces of old metal—like tin, steel, or copper—and I make jewelry out of them.”
    â€œYou recycle the junk into jewelry,” said Jessie with a smile.
    â€œYes,” said Kayla. “Let me show you—”
    She was interrupted by a young man standing outside the shed door. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt.
    â€œHi Kayla,” the young man said. “I’m here to volunteer.”
    â€œOh, hi Ethan,” said Kayla. Then she frowned. “I’m so glad you’re here. It happened again last night.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” said Ethan. “I’ll clean it up.” He turned and walked away.
    â€œEthan volunteers to help sort the recycling,” Kayla explained.
    â€œI thought people sorted their own recycling once they got here,” said Henry.
    â€œSome people don’t take the time to sort their recycling once they get here,” Kayla explained. “They just dump their bags and boxes and leave. But most people take the time to put their items in the right bins.”
    â€œLike we’re going to do,” said Violet.
    Kayla smiled. “Come outside and I’ll show you where everything goes.”
    The four children picked up their recycling bundles and followed Kayla as she showed them around the large recycling center. Except for Kayla’s studio, the center was filled with row after row of Dumpsters.
    â€œThis center is so new and so clean,” said Jessie.
    â€œYes,” said Kayla. She pointed downward. “Notice the new concrete paving,” she said. “Most of the center is paved so that when it rains, people don’t have to walk through mud.”
    The Aldens followed Kayla to the first bin.
    â€œHere’s where all the cardboard goes,” she said, pointing to an extra-large bin.
    Henry lifted his large bundle of cardboard and dumped it into the bin.
    Next, Kayla showed them where the glass bottles and jars went. “All the glass goes into one of four bins,” she said.
    â€œI see,” said Jessie. “One is marked Green , one is marked Brown , one is marked Clear , and the other is marked . . . Other .”
    Kayla laughed. “That’s just in case you have glass that’s yellow, for example, and you don’t know where it goes.”
    â€œOr purple,” said Violet, who loved the color purple. “I’ve seen purple glass.”
    Violet opened a bag they had brought on their bikes and began to drop each glass jar or bottle into the correct bin.
    â€œLet me!” shouted Benny. “I want to drop some bottles.”
    Violet gave Benny the bag she was holding. It was filled with clear glass bottles and jars. Benny reached in and pulled a bottle out. In order to drop it into the bin for clear glass, Benny had to stand on his tiptoes. Benny dropped each bottle and jar in, one at a time, until the bag was empty.
    â€œVery good, Benny,” said Kayla. “All that glass will be melted down and used to make new glass bottles and jars.”
    Jessie saw that the bin for metal cans was right next to the bins for glass. She opened the bag of metal cans she had brought to the recycling center. At home in their garage, the children had stepped on each metal can in order to crush it. Crushed cans took up less space, so they could fit more in their bag. Kayla watched as Jessie dropped all the metal cans into the bin.
    The Aldens also had two bags of plastic bottles. At home they had crushed these flat, too.
    Kayla showed the children where the plastics went. Henry dumped the two bags of plastics into