Atascadero passes anti-scavenging ordinance
People caught going through recycle bins will be cited
The Atascadero City Council approved, by a 5-0 vote, an anti-scavenging ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night. The council considered adopting such an ordinance in 2012, but did not at that time. Since then, Atascadero Police Chief Jerel Haley said, the city has received more complaints about people going their recycle bins on the street. The council asked for staff to bring back the proposed ordinance for reconsideration.
“At the time there were concerns and the recommendation was denied,” Mayor Tom O’Malley said.
Councilwoman Roberta Fonzi admitted to blocking the ordinance from being passed the last time it went before the council, but since that time she’s become aware of the high risk of identity theft from the recycle bins and requested that the ordinance be returned to the council for reconsideration.
Haley said there three primary areas of concern related to scavenging:
- Scavenging tends to attract non-residents to neighborhoods where the non-residents thereafter loiter nearby or on private property, resulting in an increase in calls for law enforcement service.
- Scavenging concerns have been heightened in recent years due to an increase in identity theft crimes. Individuals who engage in scavenging can collect personal information about the owners of the solid waste, and can thereafter use such information to execute identity theft crimes.
- Scavenging leads to increased amounts of trash and debris left behind by persons engaged in scavenging, particularly in local parks and public facilities.
“Currently, it is against the law to go through recyclables,” Haley said, but said that in order for anything to happen, the victim — who is the recycler — has to go to the site and file a complaint. Haley said the recycler has not been willing to do that. Because of the contract, once a recycle bin is put out at the street for pick up, everything inside that bin is now the property of the recycler. “It’s a difficult situation at best.”
Haley said the purpose of the ordinance is to discourage unwanted activity, not for increased enforcement. He said he believes once the ordinance goes into effect, calls will decrease. He said there will be a grace period once it goes into effect and people will be given warnings before being issued an infraction. It will not be classified as a misdemeanor.
“It will primarily increase a sense of security of our residents,” Haley said.
Citizen Michael Conger said that he sees the ordinance as another attempt to criminalize poverty.
“I do feel this targets the poor,” Conger said.
Atascadero resident Chuck Ward said that he supports the ordinance and that if the council does not pass the ordinance, they are endorsing and supporting people who dive into other people’s trash.
“We’re not doing this flippantly or to criminalize behavior,” Haley said.
What items in your recycling would have any private information on them?
I agree with Michael Conger. This is directed at the poor and the homeless.
Paper is recyclable. Bank statements, etc. often times get tossed in the recycle bin. NO TO DIVING IN MY RECYCLE BIN!
You can pass an ordinance, but you can stop the scavenging. Residents should shred (or be given access to shredding facility) sensitive papers, and be smarter about what goes in their bins.
meant to say CAN'T stop the scavenging..
Like I had said in another post on this matter, if the "poor and the homeless", as Joey calls them, would have stayed off my property and my neighbor's property, and wouldn't have stolen MY stash of recyclables ….. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with them going through recycle bins…. but some thieves ruined it for others. And it happened during the night or early morning on our trash day. I did report it to APD. For me, them trespassing was the worst part….
Sorry, Joey was agreeing with what Michael Conger had said…
And BTW…. it is against the law to go through recyclables, long before this ordinance was passed…
Look on the bright side…. maybe LESS plastic bottles and aluminum cans will be on the sides of the roads in Atascadero….
I wonder if that stops the police from going through your trash.
If anyone cares to help, instead of make uneducated criticisms, here are the facts.
1. It is state law that a person cannot remove items from a recycle bin, so the city did not make anything illegal, they just created a city ordinance.
Exhibit A: 41950. (a) No person, other than the authorized recycling agent of the city or county, shall remove paper, glass, cardboard, plastic,
used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, or other recyclable
materials which have been segregated from solid waste materials and
placed at a designated recycling collection location for residential
curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local
agency for the purposes of collection and recycling.
(b) No person shall be subject to an action for a violation of
this section, unless the person knows, or reasonably should know,
that the materials would otherwise be collected by the authorized
recycling agent for residential curbside collection programs
authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purpose of
recycling the materials.
(c) From the time that the recyclable materials specified in
subdivision (a) are placed for collection at curbside, for a
residential curbside collection program authorized by a city, county,
or local agency, the recyclable materials are the property of the
authorized recycling agent.
2. If you want to allow a scavenger access to your personal bin, it seems reasonable to be able to create a bin for scavengers, noted as such, or just throw everything into the trash bin.
This is not that complicated my people. And it is not a "war on the poor."
I got you Rick.
The US Supreme Court ruled a long time ago that once your trash is set outside, you lose any "expectation of privacy" in the contents, and it's therefore legal for them to use evidence found in your trash against you.
And Daniel is just the type of creep to do that.
What items in your recycling would have any private information on them?
I agree with Michael Conger. This is directed at the poor and the homeless.
Paper is recyclable. Bank statements, etc. often times get tossed in the recycle bin. NO TO DIVING IN MY RECYCLE BIN!
You can pass an ordinance, but you can stop the scavenging. Residents should shred (or be given access to shredding facility) sensitive papers, and be smarter about what goes in their bins.
meant to say CAN'T stop the scavenging..
Like I had said in another post on this matter, if the "poor and the homeless", as Joey calls them, would have stayed off my property and my neighbor's property, and wouldn't have stolen MY stash of recyclables ….. I wouldn't have as much of a problem with them going through recycle bins…. but some thieves ruined it for others. And it happened during the night or early morning on our trash day. I did report it to APD. For me, them trespassing was the worst part….
Sorry, Joey was agreeing with what Michael Conger had said…
And BTW…. it is against the law to go through recyclables, long before this ordinance was passed…
Look on the bright side…. maybe LESS plastic bottles and aluminum cans will be on the sides of the roads in Atascadero….
I wonder if that stops the police from going through your trash.
If anyone cares to help, instead of make uneducated criticisms, here are the facts.
1. It is state law that a person cannot remove items from a recycle bin, so the city did not make anything illegal, they just created a city ordinance.
Exhibit A: 41950. (a) No person, other than the authorized recycling agent of the city or county, shall remove paper, glass, cardboard, plastic,
used motor oil, ferrous metal, aluminum, or other recyclable
materials which have been segregated from solid waste materials and
placed at a designated recycling collection location for residential
curbside collection programs authorized by a city, county, or local
agency for the purposes of collection and recycling.
(b) No person shall be subject to an action for a violation of
this section, unless the person knows, or reasonably should know,
that the materials would otherwise be collected by the authorized
recycling agent for residential curbside collection programs
authorized by a city, county, or local agency for the purpose of
recycling the materials.
(c) From the time that the recyclable materials specified in
subdivision (a) are placed for collection at curbside, for a
residential curbside collection program authorized by a city, county,
or local agency, the recyclable materials are the property of the
authorized recycling agent.
2. If you want to allow a scavenger access to your personal bin, it seems reasonable to be able to create a bin for scavengers, noted as such, or just throw everything into the trash bin.
This is not that complicated my people. And it is not a "war on the poor."
I got you Rick.
The US Supreme Court ruled a long time ago that once your trash is set outside, you lose any "expectation of privacy" in the contents, and it's therefore legal for them to use evidence found in your trash against you.
And Daniel is just the type of creep to do that.