The first reports of a mass sickening came in around 8 a.m., and CBS 5 reports that a hazmat team was called in shortly thereafter. The plant in question sorts material from San Francisco's blue recycle bins, and a wide area around it was cordoned off as officials searched for the cause of the sickness and treated employees on site.

Two people required hospitalization.

Roughly an hour after the spill was first reported, officials with the SFFD determined that a chemical spill was not at fault. Rather, whatever caused the scare "was trash and standard material" — leading to the obvious question of what kind of recycling or trash is nauseating enough to make that many people ill.