October 8, 1994

Recycling is being transformed from a gesture to help the environment into a solid business. Used paper, cardboard and newspaper that had recently languished in warehouses are now hot commodities. The reasons: an economic recovery that has increased demand for raw materials, and a commitment by manufacturers to build the mills that can process recycled products. The surge in demand has sent prices soaring, and has made it more likely that what is rescued from the trash at home and in the office will find a valuable use somewhere else in this country. In the past, much of the trash collected for recycling was exported because of low domestic prices.

The nation's unemployment rate fell to 5.9 percent in September, the lowest level in four years, from 6.1 percent in August, as the economy continued to show growth. Page 39.

New York City will soon require thousands of able-bodied childless people who receive welfare benefits to work for the city, doing jobs like snow removal, street cleaning and park maintenance, Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani said yesterday. The Mayor also said he would begin a much tougher review of the eligibility of these welfare recipients, who are in a program known as Home Relief. The state-mandated program provides benefits to 244,000 people in New York City who are not raising children.

With its gleaming high-rises, lavish shopping malls and well-groomed beltways, Kuwait looks as if it has lifted itself out of the destruction and morass of war. But the glitter and affluence mask a country that has lost faith in itself, lives in fear of a resurgent Iraq and sees a future darkened by forces beyond its control. "There is a scramble to get another passport, to teach children other languages besides Arabic and to keep our money outside the country," a leading businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in Kuwait City this week. "There is a feeling that if Iraq to the north does not get us, the fundamentalists, backed by a growing movement in Saudi Arabia, will."

Rare Manuscripts Stolen Twenty-two medieval works are missing from Columbia University's rare books collection. Their value to scholars: priceless. Page B25. Warrants in Swiss Deaths Switzerland sought a religious sect leader as evidence grew that some of the 48 members who were found dead were not suicides. Page 6. Bankruptcy Bill Approved The Senate approved an overhaul of the bankruptcy laws, making it easier for individuals to repay debts on installment plans. Page 39. Shift in Cable TV Pricing The F.C.C. is considering allowing cable system operators to charge what they want for new television channels or services. Page 39.