At Waste Management's huge recycling facility in Maryland, the recycling stream is sometimes polluted with non-recyclable materials, and the big blue bins make it easy not to break down cardboard boxes, which is problematic. Tucked in the woods 30 miles north of Washington, D.C., is a plant packed with energy-guzzling machines that can make even an environmentalist's heart sing - giant conveyor belts, sorters and crushers saving a thousand tons of paper, plastic and other recyclables from reaching landfills each day.