I got a chuckle out of this (not sure if it was meant that way, though).
I used to cringe at the sound of bags of "empties" being crushed for recycling by the garbage men, certain that they'd think either me or my ex were alkies. And they were correct. They probably knew about his alcoholism before I did, even though I've found those "empties" in so many places mentioned here...
Thanks for sharing this thread...