Heirloom ring rescued from recycling truck Recycling workers help locate wedding, engagement rings BY BRIAN DONAHUE Staff Writer OLDBRIDGE- Itwas almost like finding a needle in a haystack. Linda Bode thought she'd never see her wedding and engagement rings again. She had been soaking the rings in cleaning solution in a jar, but inadvertently discarded the jar in a recycling container. By the time she realized this on the morning of Feb. 15, the recycling trucks had been down her street and collected the items. This was especially troubling, considering that the diamond engagement ring was 110 years old, a family heirloom that originally belonged to her husband's great-aunt. Bode called the recycling hot line for the Middlesex County Improvement Authority (MCIA), which oversees curbside recycling for 16 municipalities, including Old Bridge. She spoke with a customer service representative, who in turn contacted the route supervisor, Ed Slavicek. He traced the truck's route and discovered that the driver had completed the route and was headed to Colgate Recycling in New Brunswick to unload. Slavicek, who was in Old Bridge, met with Bode, and had her follow him to the Colgate facility. Colgate's vice president, Steve DiNardi, meanwhile, arranged for a special unloading of the truck, and the driver then waited for Slavicek and Bode to arrive. The truck was taken to a designated area, and its loadwas tipped over a long dis- tance to make for easier sorting. Slavicek, along with Recycling Manager Ed Windas and Colgate employee Ray Armangeon, began to sift with rakes through the material, most of its smashed and squished. Because recycling routes are scheduled consistently, the group was able to determine that Bode's items would be toward the center of the load. As the men embarked on this rather messy and tedious task, they asked Bode to watch for any items she might recognize fromher containers.After 15 to 20minutes, Bode saw some Fruit 2O bottles and the Nestlé bottleswhose labelswere removed by her daughter for a school project, along with three empty cans fromthe prior night's dinner. Then, sure enough, Slavicek located the jar of jewelry cleaner with the rings inside. "I couldn't thank them enough," Bode said. "You can't replace a ring like this. I couldn't believe that thesemen were willing to go through the trouble to find the rings." Bode noted that one of the guys in particular had become covered in paint and other liquids while he searched. She offered to pay him or at least have his clothes cleaned. "He said, 'No, this is my job.' They were such wonderful guys," she said. Bode noted also her husband's surprise that the rings were found. "He said 'It's a miracle,'" she recalled. "Someone was watching over me." Windas said that after speaking with Bode that morning, he had to help. "When Linda called, there was an urgency in her voice, andwe sensed howupset she was," he said. "We wanted to help her, and I think the result takes customer service to a new level."