What Happens to the Items TSA Confiscates at Security Checkpoints?

Perhaps one of the greatest curiosities of the airport experience is what actually happens to the items many travelers are forced to surrender (unless said traveler is able to sacrifice the time necessary to take the item(s) all the way back to his or her car- if indeed the traveler drove a personal vehicle to the airport and willingly became subject to the absurd parking fees- or, perhaps the traveler might opt to mail back the item to their home from the airport) at airport security?

I have drawn on an article from msnbc for the figures below.

"Since 9/11, the TSA has detected approximately 50 million prohibited items, including 4,600 firearms, during airport checkpoint screening." It is not all that surprising that "hazardous materials are disposed of, and dangerous or illegal items such as guns and explosives are turned over to law enforcement," but what about everyday items?

In the event that they are not saved by the passenger in one of the options listed above and surrendered, as is most often the case, there are a couple of different scenarios that might play out. Typically, the items end up being donated to state governments “to be auctioned off or sold as revenue. TSA in no way profits from surrendered or lost items at the checkpoint.”

Though TSA might not profit from the sale of these goods when they are not donated, there are certainly states that do make a considerable profit. The Pennsylvania Department of General Services for example receives hoards of excess items from New York's JFK and LaGuardia airports among others. The items are sorted and stored at a warehouse and then generally auctioned off in lots online and have generated around $700,000 for the state since 2004 (about $100,000 a year ).

Here is the link for the original article: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/24/8470150-what-happens-to-items-left-at-security-checkpoints