Call it a donation, and the next time you recover one...well consider it yours, unless it is marked with a name. <Put your name on your gear if you want it back.
Most of the belts I find from ab divers have been down for years. Last time diving Still Water I recovered about a 35lb belt that had been down for a couple of years. So far I have recovered about 6 weight belts. Van Damne is like a gold mine for them, as I seem to find one on every dive. The most common thing I find on them is plastic buckles. Take that as a recommendation for stainless buckles, or even better a rubber belt from Mako with a stainless buckle. They will replace the belt should you have to ditch it, plus they tend to not fall off.
