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Stealing Bottles & Cans

The SF Examiner is covering a move elsewhere in the County to crack down on people stealing out of the recycling bins.  We've all seen this and it only makes sense that this costs residents coming and going.  The article says "possibly adding to" our garbage bills, but it seems like a 100% probablility to me not to mention the additional CRV costs from someone getting a nickel for something they never bought.

Modern-day pillagers who roam Peninsula streets swiping recyclable materials from residents’ curbside bins under the cover of darkness — and possibly adding to their garbage bills — are the target of a crackdown.

Taking recyclables from someone else’s bin is already illegal under state law, but that requires the district attorney to prosecute the case, which “isn’t really worth the DA’s time,” according to Foster City police Capt. Jon Froomin.

Beyond the nuisance it causes, scavenging cuts into the volume of commodities that the regional trash agency RethinkWaste receives and then sells to keep customers’ rates down, said agency spokeswoman Monica Devincenzi.

So Foster City's response seems like a slam-dunk-just-copy-it-in-B'game move

Foster City’s law, which could go into effect as soon as mid-February, would make taking curbside recyclables an infraction punishable by a $100 ticket, followed by $200 for a second offense within a year and $500 for subsequent offenses.

The only argument against it is the police might be busy, in which case they just ignore the call.  Seems like an easy patrol though since the day and neighborhood of collection never changes.

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6 responses to “Stealing Bottles & Cans”

  1. Mike

    I’ve seen people going through my recycling this past summer. Haven’t noticed it much since it has been cold and raining. I just turn on the porch light and they run off.

  2. holyroller

    I know the noise from “those people” in the morning is annoying.
    But once a consumer disgards a product to an unlocked resepticle in the street, it is a CAST OFF,GARBAGE, and gone.
    No longer the property of the people who are DONE with the delivery system for the product purchased.
    Why does anyone think the GARBAGE COLLECTION COMPANY IS ENTITLED TO PROFIT FROM YOUR WASTE PRODUCT?
    Don’t we all pay for garbage service now?
    What do you think?

  3. Jeff

    It seems to me that the rouge recyclers are only trying to scratch out a living doing a hard and dirty job. As long as these recyclers don’t threaten anyone, don’t come onto private property, don’t leave a mess and don’t make excessive noise, we should let them be. Maybe, the rolling containers will prove to be too deep and too much trouble for the rouge recyclers and their numbers will diminish.

  4. Mr. Slate

    I don’t think its right for these people to dig through my garbage for many reasons. It does seem, however, that allocating limited police resources to chasing them away is an absolute waste. The new cans make is very difficult to sort and the problem may just go away. The fact that we are spending this much time on the Trash Bin Burglers tells me crime must be way down otherwise.

  5. holyroller

    That is a good observation Mr. Slate..
    Food for thought,
    When was the last time you saw a Burlingame Police Officer giving anyone a ticket?
    I see the San Mateo County Sheriff giving out tickets every morning at Broadway, Penninsula, and Burlingame Ave.

  6. Joe Pirate

    You people are morons. A person that is in dire need of food or whatever gets some stuff out your precious recycle bin and cashes it in. How the hell is this a crime? Burlingame has to be the most ignorent city on the planet.
    There are some real problems out there. Someone taking your garbage I suspect deeply is not one of them. Relax. Have a beer for Gods sake. Then recycle it of course.
    The “Pirate”.

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