Quicklime (Calcium oxide - CaO), known to Sammy "The Bull" Gravano as an excellent decomposer, is used to get rid of waste materials ranging from banana peels to uncooperative wise guys. Such application derives from lime's distinct ability to raise the pH of soil to a very basic 11.5 which will turn most anything into a slurry of nutrients for hungry plants. This may explain why there are so many weeds growing along the New Jersey Turnpike.