The writers had wanted an episode where Burns becomes bankrupt and shows what Burns would be like as a person in the real world. The idea with the recycling plant was that Burns did not have any sort of evil plan, he just could not help being himself. Burns really was trying to change and this was reflected in the end when he tried to give Lisa her share of the profits, with Lisa refusing. Burns was drawn without his trademark scowl for this episode. The staff joked about this being a suitable series finale, due to the episode ending with Homer suffering from another heart attack after Lisa tells Homer what 10% of Burns' $120,000,000 check really is.