5 ms·
"Trash picking is illegal in California — once a bin is rolled out onto the sidewalk the contents are considered the possession of the trash collection company.
by _bxg1 8y ago
"Trash picking is illegal in California — once a bin is rolled out onto the sidewalk the contents are considered the possession of the trash collection company...But the law is rarely enforced."
Good thing it's now been featured in the New York Times. /s
- bluedino 8y agoI wouldn’t be surprised if this is to prevent scrappers from going around, dumping the trash out into a pile, removing anything of value (metals etc) and leaving the trash pile there to sit or worse, blow around the neighborhood
- csomar 8y agoThat’s a huge issue where I live. It needs to be regulated otherwise it is chaos.
- jacquesm 8y agoThat's one part. Another part is that the people that receive the trash make money of it and they don't like competition. When I was a kid paper, metal, peel (outer cover of fruits and potatos) and glass all got recycled, there was very little real trash. Now I have 4 very large containers that get picked up at regular times by the municipality and all the people that made a living recycling before are on the dole because the contracts only get awarded to large conglomerates who get paid for the privilege from the municipal taxes. It gets better, they sue when the municipalities do not produce the required minimum amounts.
- manfredo 8y agoRealistically, I think this law only exists for two reasons: 1. To discourage dumping of the whole bin's contents on to the sidewalk - happens often enough that it's an issue in some neighborhoods. 2. To punish picking out private info from trash. Things like credit card statements, utility bills, etc. that may contain sensitive information. I really could not care less what people do with my trash as long as they refrain from the above two points.
- _bxg1 8y agoThe reason a law exists and the way it's enforced are seldom kept in-sync.
- lostlogin 8y agoThe article mentions that the city earns revenue from recycling too, and missing the revenue is a problem when that’s taken.
- zaroth 8y agoYeah that’s definitely no longer the case.
- lostlogin 8y agoIs the article incorrect? “The city is most concerned about the battered pickup trucks, known as mosquito fleets, that buzz around San Francisco collecting recyclables on an industrial scale, depriving Recology, and ultimately the city, of income, said Bill Barnes, a spokesman for the city administrator’s office. “That’s a significant challenge for residents because it results in higher garbage rates,” Mr. Barnes said.”
- MrEldritch 8y agoI would actually assume that the reason the law exists is because rummaging through dumpsters sounds like something a homeless person would do, and we know how California likes to try and make it illegal for homeless people to exist.
- ALittleLight 8y agoPerhaps that's true in some parts of California. The parts I'm acquainted with seem to be overflowing with homeless.
- plorkyeran 8y agoThey wouldn't "need" to pass laws against being homeless if there weren't any homeless people to begin with.
- TheLuddite 8y agoUSA is a civilized society, until the court sentences you - you are innocent.
- mamon 8y agoWith the exception of sexual harassement charges, where your guilt is assumed (based on the fact that you are male) and you have to prove your innocence.
- JetSpiegel 8y agoMaybe on the court of public opinion, but that doesn't really lead to jail time.
- dekhn 8y agoI was curious about that line, because (I thought) private investigators are legally permitted to go through people's trash if it's off the property.
- beatgammit 8y agoIn many (most?) areas, trash enters the public domain as soon as it hits the curb (it's on public property, after all). Dumpster diving is a real thing that's completely legal, provided you don't make a mess (that's littering) and provided you don't trespass. Some malls keep dumpsters on their property to prevent dumpster diving, but many don't. I actually thought of getting into it, but I never bothered to actually get out and do it since the reward seemed so small compared to other things I could spend my time on. However, there's definitely a community of dumpster divers out there that do it on the regular. I guess I'm only somewhat surprised that this is illegal in California, and I'm not at all surprised that it's illegal in the Bay Area (there are a lot more wealthy people that don't want undesirables picking through their trash).