Hundreds of pounds of cooked pasta mysteriously dumped in New Jersey woods

Imagine going for a leisurely hike and stumbling upon mounds of pasta in the woods. 

It seems highly unlikely, unless you were recently walking near the river basin in Old Bridge, New Jersey, where hundreds of pounds of cooked pasta were dumped in the area last month. Their origins remain a mystery.

Nina Jochnowitz, who is running for city council in the town of about 66,000 posted images of the piles of pasta in a Facebook group, thanking the public works department for cleaning up the estimated 500-pound mess. 

In her post, she criticized the mayor, saying he ignored the situation. Jochnowitz is running on a platform of cleaning up the waterways and environment in the town and wants to improve waste and recycling services with new initiatives like bulk pickup. CBS News has reached out to Jochnowitz and is awaiting response. 

While the visual of spaghetti and macaroni becoming one with nature is off putting, many found humor in the peculiar sight, including Jochnowitz, who called it “Mission Impastable.”

In a Reddit thread dedicated to New Jersey, many people shared pasta puns. 

“We should send the perpetrators to the state penne tentiary,” one person joked.

“Lead suspect is a guy named Al Dente,” another commented.

CBS News has reached out to the Old Bridge mayor, city council, police and public works department for more information and is awaiting response.