Broke Guy Faces $2,000 Fine for Collecting Recyclables

They should shove bamboo shoots under his finger nails. Completely unacceptable behavior.

You would think that the owner's permission makes it upunishable. Unless they are saying that we can't touch our own damned recyclables once we put them on the curb.

I really, really hate bureaucracy. I do think all these bizarre little stories are showing a disturbing new trend in our society.

I wonder, if he had put them in a shopping cart and then pulled the cart via his brother's car, would that still count?

This is, of course, an idiotic rule. Some regulations are needed, but I times I think people make up rules just for the hell of it.

Don, It's probably not accelerating. We just simply hear about it more often, thanks to the internet.

I spent a LOT of time, broadcasting planning commision meetings where cities contracted to get the recyclables picked up. It's a HUGE business. What the law is designed to prevent, is other COMPANIES picking up recyclables... essentially stealing them. (And yeah - recyclable piracy is also a big business. With competitiors driving around in their own trucks and doing this.) The fact that they don't prosecute individuals who collect recyclables directly FROM businesses before they are placed in the bins - indicates they are not against the practice. It's a poorly written ordinance. The guys should fight it, get it re-written.

Okay, I was almost going to play devil's advocate here, since I know that my wretched state of CA a lot of people complain about homeless guys going through the garbage cans, and it can be a neighborhood issue even if one person gave permission.

But then I read that it was only a violation because he had a CAR. Shopping cart would have been a-okay.

That story is so sad on so many levels...

The Sanitation Enforcer . . . starring Hulk Hogan as sanitation patrol officer Robert Barrows and Ryan Ochoa as Billy, the leader of a gang of boys who pick up aluminum cans.

backslashbaby said:

You would think that the owner's permission makes it upunishable.

Click to expand...

Exactly, it's basic property rights. But don't you know that property rights are a fairly radical idea?

Shadow Dragon said:

I wonder, if he had put them in a shopping cart and then pulled the cart via his brother's car, would that still count?

Click to expand...

According to the article, had he used a shopping cart (or wheelbarrow, or whatever), he would have been fine.

alleycat said:

The Sanitation Enforcer . . . starring Hulk Hogan as sanitation patrol officer Robert Barrows and Ryan Ochoa as Billy, the leader of a gang of boys who pick up aluminum cans.

Click to expand...

The Sanitation Enforcer would make for an awesome movie/book/game/etc title.

Don said:

Yeah. But I'd bet there's a law against towing a shopping cart with a car.

Click to expand...

Well, there's the matter of who owns the shopping cart...

But, I get this picture of a guy trying to dig himself out and getting fined for it.

Oh dear. In Michigan we have a 10 cent deposit on beer and pop cans and bottles. I despise returning them though (we don't consume enough to make it worth the hassle) so I put them in my recycling bin. I know the needy always check the bins and collect the returnables. I hope I don't get anyone in trouble.

How dare all of you. Communists. Our system-design is flawless. F-l-a-w-l-e-s-s, I tell you. Criminals like this need to be made an example of, or the next thing you know, we might start focusing on resurrecting humanity.

Shame, shame on him. And all of you.



Lyx

Ordinances are written so that YOU DON'T OWN YOUR GARBAGE or your recyclables - ONCE THEY ARE ON THE CURB. Or 'in the bin'. That's why police can go through it. That's why turd-burglars DO go through it for information. So yeah, the 'owners' can't tell the guy it's all right to take it out of the bin. They can hold it back and GIVE it to him though.

Fascinating stuff - sitting through HOURS AND HOURS of civic council meetings listening to the Recycling Companies, the Police Departments, the City Council, and Environmentalists (not to mention home owners and businesses) going round and round about this.

Almost as much fun as watching paint dry.

Shadow Dragon said:

The Sanitation Enforcer would make for an awesome movie/book/game/etc title.

Click to expand...

Right up there with "The Mattress Police."

http://movieclips.com/t4PeD-fletch-movie-mattress-police/




.

Okay, so I AM going to play devil's advocate. I just moved out of an apartment complex where this was a huge issue. We had large bins at the end of each building, and we constantly had people driving up and rooting through all the rubbish. We also had a problem with people having stuff stolen while they were moving in and out of the complex - the people who drove around going through garbages also kept an eye out for easy loot. This was in a very safe city, in a safe neighborhood. I am fairly sure the people doing this were coming from the next city over - which was not so safe or wealthy.

Now I'm living in an urban neighborhood, also quite safe compared to surrounding areas, and the week after we moved in I spotted a suspicious looking guy walking down the street nosing around people's properties. Yup, he was taking recyclables.

I'm all for helping those in need. If someone walked up and knocked and asked for some food, I'd give them whatever I had. But sneaking around my property? Stealing from my bins? No. Not okay. I have a small child and this is NOT okay with me, and I wouldn't care if my neighbors have told this guy it's okay or what, I don't want him here digging around in our bins.

There are other ways to get help.

I don't get it--we're talking about discards. If someone can redeem them from your bins, who cares?

JoNightshade said:

I'm all for helping those in need. If someone walked up and knocked and asked for some food, I'd give them whatever I had. But sneaking around my property? Stealing from my bins? No. Not okay. I have a small child and this is NOT okay with me, and I wouldn't care if my neighbors have told this guy it's okay or what, I don't want him here digging around in our bins.

Click to expand...

(Bolding mine.)

Here's the thing, though. There's no collective ownership of the bins, correct? You own yours, and you own your own property. Same as your neighbors. Every person is free to allow others onto his own property. In the OP, the guy had permission to go onto the properties. If this was in your neighborhood, and you didn't want to grant permission, that would be fine, but I don't see what control you would have over your neighbors.

Don said:

The Sanitation Enforcer, for one.

I envision him in armor made from discarded soda cans, carrying the top of a garbage can as his shield, and firing last week's leftovers as his weapon of choice.

Click to expand...

Driving an armored GDU (Garbage Disposal Unit) truck.

Michael Wolfe said:

(Bolding mine.)

Here's the thing, though. There's no collective ownership of the bins, correct? You own yours, and you own your own property. Same as your neighbors. Every person is free to allow others onto his own property. In the OP, the guy had permission to go onto the properties. If this was in your neighborhood, and you didn't want to grant permission, that would be fine, but I don't see what control you would have over your neighbors.

Click to expand...

Well, I was trying to illustrate why such laws might exist. I also believe (I could be wrong) that although we pay to have trash picked up, part of the cost of the collection is offset by what the recycling companies reclaim. So part of their deal with the city (at least where I lived) included getting the profits from those cans. So when you set your trash out by the side of the road, it does become their property, and setting them out there grants them the right to pick it up.

Anyway, I think it's generally better for neighborhoods if this sort of thing isn't allowed. If all of my neighbors were letting someone do this, it would generally make the neighborhood less safe, and I would probably get behind some sort of local ordinance banning such behavior.

So given that I've seen the problem firsthand, I understand why such laws might be made and enforced.

JoNightshade said:

So part of their deal with the city (at least where I lived) included getting the profits from those cans. So when you set your trash out by the side of the road, it does become their property, and setting them out there grants them the right to pick it up.

Click to expand...

A quick google search will show lots of city websites explaining this exact concept. Cities warn that if you don't crack down on recycling theft, recycling pickup fees could increase. They are usually more worried about large-scale theft in this case. The homeless guy going through the cans has less impact on pickup fees and more on property values, I would guess.