Talk > Rants, Raves, and Praise > [General] Recycling Theft and the people that do it

Its not theft. once trash is put on the curb its public property and a free for all. there is nothing you can do

Its not theft. once trash is put on the curb its public property and a free for all. there is nothing you can do

When they come on people's property to do it, they can be cited for tresspassing as well. There is no excuse for going in my backyard or carport to get recyclables.

Its not theft. once trash is put on the curb its public property and a free for all. there is nothing you can do

The funny thing is, if someone left out a rocking chair at the curb and some guy drove by and picked it up no one would likely say a thing as the city wouldn't be making any money off of it.

it is property of the city. It says it right on the bun. For instance, city of Culver City and Los Angeles bins say, "all items inside are property of the city of culver city/los angeles" in both english and spanish. Scavenging laws.

I agree. But in the three locations I have lived in, in three states, trash was either put on the tree lawn or in the street. The tree lawn is considered public property even though the homeowner is required to care for it. Thus, anyone who looks at your garbage while it is put out to be collected is not trespassing. Now, as I said before if your garbage is still in your back yard, and they are getting into that, then it is trespassing.

While I acknowledge that your city does have that law, I wonder how it would hold up against Greenwood v California. The supreme court explicitly stated that people should not expect a right to privacy in their trash if it is waiting to be collected. »en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California···reenwood While this case was mainly centered around law enforcement's ability to gather evidence without a warrant, this sentence stands out "the Court believed it to be “common knowledge” that garbage at the side of the street is “readily accessible to animals, children, scavengers, snoops, and other members of the public.”

Also, how is your city losing money? Do they cash in on the CRV that California puts on all its bottles and cans? If this is true, then the city isn't losing money, you are losing money. You are the one that paid the CRV. When I lived in CA, I would keep all my plastic bottles and cans, then take them in to the recycling station on my own so I could get my money back. My city had a recycling program, but I didn't freely give them the bottles. Maybe am I missing something, but it sounds like the city is losing out on the opportunity to take your money by people taking bottles and cans out of your trash.