GALT, Calif. — A worker at a Northern California recycling center saved a tiny kitten from certain death when he spotted the animal heading down a conveyor belt.

Tony Miranda tells television station KCRA that he was sorting recyclables Tuesday when he found the pink-nosed, white-pawed cat between the debris and scooped it up.

It’s not clear how the kitten got in with the trash, but it may have survived a ride in a dump truck before a tractor pushed it onto one of two conveyor belts.

A call went out to employees of Cal-Waste Recovery Systems that a baby cat had been discovered at the facility in Galt, a city about 90 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Another worker decided to adopt the kitten and named it Murphy.