South Tahoe Refuse workers are used to sorting all sorts of things that come across the conveyor belt. On Monday it was a gun.

“The protocol is it gets turned into our manager immediately and then we call the police department and they come pick it up,” John Marchini, who owns STR, told Lake Tahoe News.

Marchini did not see this particular handgun on Feb. 11 so he does not know the caliber of it.

South Lake Tahoe police officers were not forthcoming with any information about the gun. This means it is not known if the gun was used in the commission of a crime, if it were stolen, why the owner dumped it or whom it is registered to.

Marchini said guns are not often found on the sorting line. Ammunition is more common.

When something comes along that workers think might have accidentally found its way in the trash – like car keys, jewelry and cell phones – they are put to the side so the person could come claim the item.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report