Recyclable Theft

[Danno]

[WT Reader]

Interesting, Danno.

I have placed large items out for pick-up on collection day, making special arrangments with the carrier. I place them out on the eve of collection day, but lo and behold...by early sunrise, POOF, they are gone! Amazing !

-- WT Reader

[gmg77]

My neighbors complain about this also. I just don't get why folks are upset. Onyx isn't going to lower our bills from the aluminum can recycling. In the end the important thing is it gets recycled, if some elderly lady gets some cash to supplement her bills even better. I don't drink soda, but whenever I see a hunk of aluminum equipment in the trash at work I bring it home just for our neighborhood treasure hunters. Same goes for furniture if someone takes it and can re-use it instead of it going to the dump its a win/win.

[Danno]

My neighbors complain about this also. I just don't get why folks are upset. Onyx isn't going to lower our bills from the aluminum can recycling. In the end the important thing is it gets recycled, if some elderly lady gets some cash to supplement her bills even better. I don't drink soda, but whenever I see a hunk of aluminum equipment in the trash at work I bring it home just for our neighborhood treasure hunters. Same goes for furniture if someone takes it and can re-use it instead of it going to the dump its a win/win.

I was at the city council meeting years ago when recycling was started. It was said then that the proceeds from the scrap aluminum would go to offset the cost of collection. Whether that was true of not I don't know but it was said at that meeting. The city recently began adding a $5 per quarter surcharge on our water bills to pay for garbage and recyclable pickup. I would guess these ladies are stealing thousands of dollars a year from the city. There is also an ordinance that prohibits it.

Also, about a year ago I cut a credit card in half and threw it in my garbage. The day of garbage collection, when I went to get my empty can from the curb, both halves of the credit card were laying on the street. Someone had to have been rummaging through my garbage, foung the two halves, took them and then decided it might not do them any good so they threw them on the ground. They is very little chance both halves just happened to fall out of the can onto the ground.

Sec. 10-9. Restrictions on scavenging theft of recyclable commodities.
(a) No person shall scavenge through private or public solid waste containers. For purposes of this section, scavenging means foraging or scrounging in waste containers.
(b) No person shall steal or take, without the owner's permission or right, any recyclable commodity from the recycling bin on the curb line of any residential unit or from the city recycling center at the public works department.
© Any person found in violation of this section shall be subject to a fine of not less than $50.00 nor more than $150.00 for each offense. In addition, any person found in violation of this subsection shall be required to work at the city recycling center for not less than four nor more than 24 hours. The stealing or taking without permission or right of recyclable commodities from each recycling bin is considered a separate and distinct offense.
(Code 1974, § 17-9; Ord. No. 95-O-165, § 9, 12-18-95)

[Danno]

My neighbors complain about this also. I just don't get why folks are upset. Onyx isn't going to lower our bills from the aluminum can recycling. In the end the important thing is it gets recycled, if some elderly lady gets some cash to supplement her bills even better. I don't drink soda, but whenever I see a hunk of aluminum equipment in the trash at work I bring it home just for our neighborhood treasure hunters. Same goes for furniture if someone takes it and can re-use it instead of it going to the dump its a win/win.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-07-01/news/17171580_1_recycling-theft-bins-curbside">http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-07-01/n ... s-curbside</a><!-- m -->


A recycling war is breaking out on the Bay Area's curbsides.

Those ubiquitous, colorful recycling bins people set out each week for pickup stand squarely on a battle line between growing numbers of organized crews who snag cans and bottles and the official waste haulers who say "poachers" are increasingly hostile and dangerous.

Caught in the cross fire are residents. Reports about noise, litter and trespassing have risen so dramatically in the past couple of years that a state lawmaker has written a bill that would make it illegal for recycling centers and salvage yards to buy goods totaling $50 or more without asking for identification and paying by check.


"Ten years ago, you'd see homeless people or a little old grandma going through the garbage and putting cans into a bag to get a couple dollars," said San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, who introduced the recycling theft bill. "But now it's more organized, no one is enforcing (theft laws), and it's a way to generate cash."

For those on the economic fringe, however, the recycled goods can bring in needed cash amid a faltering economy, a shortage of jobs and the soaring costs of food, gas and rent. Prices for aluminum run more than $3,700 per ton, glass $210, plastic $180 and cardboard $130, according to Sunset Scavenger, a division of giant Norcal Waste Systems Inc.

Typically, recycling theft works like this: Small groups converge on a neighborhood on the night before the regular weekly trash and recycling pickup. Runners go from bin to bin, gathering glass bottles, plastic and aluminum, which are thrown into a pickup truck - often rickety and modified with tall wooden boards to carry bigger loads. When the truck is filled, the drivers take the cargo to a recycling center or scrap yard.

In some instances, the recycling crews have unwritten agreements with commercial businesses such as restaurants or produce markets to collect their bottles or cardboard.

On Sunday evening near Glen Park's busy main drag, Diamond Street, several groups trolled the streets collecting bottles and cans. In one instance, a man drove a red, graffiti-covered truck while two men walked on opposite sidewalks, gathering bottles and cans from blue bins set out for the next morning's official pickup, and dumped them into the truck.

Though the men didn't knock over the bins or leave other trash in their wake, some San Francisco residents say they know when the recycling bandits are on the march when they see tipped-over cans and litter strewn on the ground and hear clanks of bottles and cans at 3 a.m. One waste company says it has received 20,000 complaints of curbside recycling theft in San Francisco.

Jo Cangelosi's home office sits at the front of her Potrero Hill house with a view of Mississippi Street. The recycling squads have gotten so bad that she puts her recycling out at the very last minute - when she can hear the regular truck rumbling down the road.

"One day, I saw six or seven people going through the trash," she said. "It was ridiculous. They started at 4 o'clock, and they went that night and until the next morning."

Cangelosi, who worries not just about noise and litter but also the potential for identity theft, has gone so far as to confront some of the scavengers.

"Lately, it's gotten a lot more aggressive," she said. "I know it's probably stupid, but I still do it anyway - I go out and tell them not to go through the cans. Some get really angry and yell and cuss or do it anyway." Cangelosi has called the nonemergency police dispatch number but has never received a response; several waste companies contend that recycling theft is a low priority for police because it is considered a minor crime.

Robert Reed, spokesman for Sunset Scavenger, said one customer reported that a man grabbed her wrist, twisted it and pushed her to the ground after she approached and asked them to stop taking the recycling.

Curbing poachers
Recycling theft is illegal. As soon as customers put their beer bottles and soda cans in the recycling bin of the city-authorized firm and take it to the curb, those recyclables becomes the waste company's property. In San Francisco, fines for stealing recyclables run from $20 to $500 and can result in up to six months' imprisonment. In Union City, the fines start at $100.

It goes far beyond California. New York City approved legislation that increases the penalty for unlawfully removing or transporting recyclables from $100 to $2,000 for first-time offenders and $5,000 for repeat offenders. The city can also impound vehicles involved in the theft and can arrest those who receive stolen recyclables.

In California, Ma's bill, which is in a state Senate committee, aims to curb recycling theft by calling on the recycling buyers to do more.

But some waste contractors say added paperwork could hog-tie their operations. They also note that poachers often sell them the recycling they would normally collect themselves.

[Danno]

Vancouver Washington and Recyclable Theft

Garbage & Recycling
Taking recyclables is against the law!
Don’t Take Recyclables Without Permission
When recyclables become more valuable, they sometimes disappear from the curb before the regular collector can pick them up. The practice of taking recyclables without the owner’s permission is called "scavenging," and its against the law. Basically, it’s the same as stealing, and anyone caught stealing recyclables may be charged with a misdemeanor and fined. Both the City of Vancouver and Clark County codes state, "No person shall remove recyclables placed out for collection without the consent of the generator or collector."

If you see someone in the process of stealing your recyclables, please call 9-1-1 with their physical description and license plate number, if possible.

If the thief has already gone, call the City of Vancouver Police Department, 360-487-7397 .

Top 10 Reasons Why Theft of Recyclables is a Problem
You don’t want these folks in your neighborhood
It’s a possible "gateway" crime – These people may begin to believe that its OK to take something if they are "desperate"
Thieves may be prowling or "casing" the neighborhood
Potential for personal or financial information to be obtained and used by a crook
Neatness doesn’t count with these folks; they may leave the street and your lawn a mess
Scavengers can become abusive or violent if confronted
Response and follow-up on individual incidents is, understandably, a relatively low priority for law enforcement staff
Over-lapping criminal/civil laws, penalties, and enforcement strategies are not well coordinated
Loss of the higher valued materials (aluminum cans) ultimately means customers pay more
Vancouver residents get less credit for their efforts – reflected in lower recycling rate
Ideas for How an Effective Action Plan Might Help Reduce/Eliminate the Problem
Proactive and coordinated strategy/campaign throughout the City/County
Participation of residents, businesses, neighborhood organizations, Police, Solid Waste, Public Affairs, and others – Customer Advisory Panel
Clear instructions empowering residents to take lead role in their neighborhoods
Consolidated reporting, monitoring, and analysis system
Pre-prepared warning/penalty/follow-up and response efforts geared to first-time and/or repeat violators
Targeted, high quality promo./ed. campaign targeting both residents and scavengers
Regular and rotating efforts to track, apprehend, and follow-up with repeat violators
State of Washington Laws Related to Theft of Recyclables:
RCW 9A.56.050 Theft in the third degree.
(1) A person is guilty of theft in the third degree if he or she commits theft of property or services which (a) does not exceed two hundred and fifty dollars in value, or (b) includes ten or more merchandise pallets, or ten or more beverage crates, or a combination of ten or more merchandise pallets and beverage crates.

(2) Theft in the third degree is a gross misdemeanor. [1998 c 236 § 4; 1975 1st ex.s. c 260 § 9A.56.050.]

CriminalPenalty:

RCW 9A.20.021 Maximum sentences for crimes committed July 1, 1984, and after.
(2) Gross misdemeanor. Every person convicted of a gross misdemeanor defined in Title 9A RCW shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a maximum term fixed by the court of not more than one year, or by a fine in an amount fixed by the court of not more than five thousand dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

RCW 70.95.235 Diversion of recyclable material--Penalty.
(1) No person may divert to personal use any recyclable material placed in a container as part of a recycling program, without the consent of the generator of such recyclable material or the solid waste collection company operating under the authority of a town, city, county, or the utilities and transportation commission, and no person may divert to commercial use any recyclable material placed in a container as part of a recycling program, without the consent of the person owning or operating such container

(2) A violation of subsection (1) of this section is a class 1 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW. Each violation of this section shall be a separate infraction. [1991 c 319 § 407.]

Civil Penalty: RCW 7.80.120 Monetary penalties--Restitution.

(1) A person found to have committed a civil infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty.
(a) The maximum penalty and the default amount for a class 1 civil infraction shall be two hundred fifty dollars, not including statutory assessments, except for an infraction of state law involving tobacco products as specified in RCW 70.93.060(4), in which case the maximum penalty and default amount is five hundred dollars;

Vancouver Law Related to Theft of Recyclables:
VMC Section 6.12.216 - Removal of recyclables from bins and containers prohibited.

No person shall remove any recyclable material or solid waste placed in or immediately adjacent to a bin or a container as part of a city contracted solid waste or recycling program without the consent of the generator of such recyclable material or solid waste or of the collector owning or operating the bin or container under contract with or under authority of the city of Vancouver. (Ord. M-3193 § 23, 1995: Ord. M-3053 § 6, 1993)

Civil VMC Section 6.12.240 Enforcement

Penalty: (b) Enforcement Options. [Allows for either Criminal or Civil Penalties when a violation of VMC 6.12 occurs; explains intent to generally apply civil penalties for first time violations].

…… subparagraph (2) © states: Any person who violates any provision of this chapter or fails to comply with an order to comply issued under this chapter shall be subject to a civil penalty. Each day the violation exists shall constitute a new violation.

For each violation defined above, the penalty shall be two hundred fifty dollars. The penalty shall be five hundred dollars for the second separate violation and one thousand dollars for the third and subsequent separate violations of the same chapter provision or regulation within any five-year period.



<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cityofvancouver.us/solidwaste.asp?menuid=10465&submenuID=10531&itemID=16597&sup=16605">http://www.cityofvancouver.us/solidwast ... &sup=16605</a><!-- m -->

[Danno]

Scrap Theft Laws-Why We Need Them

Scrap thieves are people who steal metals for their recyclable value. The problem is that most do not care if they are following sound environmental practices. They also sometimes steal things that are not meant to be discarded. All they care about is the metal. On this page we have some links to some news stories regarding this problem. Recent metal prices have spurred this activity on.



Some other issues related to these scavengers are that they do not care about road safety either. Trucks are sometimes loaded dangerously and are not maintained properly. Think that this doesn't affect you? It does, when they dump the discarded components that metal processing facilities won't take, taxpayers foot the bill for clean up. Not to mention, that most of these guys are not only looking for metal to steal but anything valuable. That could include your lawnmower, or your child's bike. Please look at some of these news stories and think about this problem from a broader prospective.




Steel thieves delay the opening of the Cahokia bridge. Go to channel 4's website to view clip.



Thieves steal veterans' grave markers for scrap.

Recycling thieves thrive in S.F., NYC, elsewhere

Joe Truini

It's a wacky world when one's trash isn't even safe from thieves.

Organized theft of curbside recyclables is increasing in frequency, as well as brazenness, creating financial and safety issues for municipalities, their recycling contractors and residents.

Fleets of vehicles sweep through cities and towns in the wee hours of the morning to beat city crews and private haulers to the bounty in the recycling carts.

``This is an illegal, underground commercial economy that trades in cash,'' said Robert Reed, a spokesman for Norcal Waste Systems Inc. in San Francisco. ``This is the top issue that we hear about from our customers, that our drivers hear about out on routes, that we hear about on our Web s! ite. Number one issue.''

Recycling poachers are stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of recyclables in California, said Joe Garbarino Jr., chairman of Marin Sanitary Service, which operates in Marin County, Calif. He estimated they make off with 60 to 70 percent of the material before his trucks get to it.

``It's an epidemic that could possibly drive the refuse industry out of the business because we're sending trucks out, paying union wages, spending a quarter of a million dollars for each truck and when we get out there, they've stolen all the material,'' he said. ``All of a sudden now, we've got all these people going out all night long, coming into our recycling centers with pickup loads and nobody's doing a damn thing about it and I don't think anybody cares.''

Not only are they stealing recyclables, but many of the trucks often are registered under the same address and are not certified, as they should! be, under California law.

``These are businesses,'' Reed s aid. ``These are groups. These are illegal fleets. They're operating outside the law.''

New York Department of Sanitation police impounded 28 vehicles last month used to steal curbside recyclables under a law passed last year giving the city the right to do so. It enacted the law, which also increased fines to up to $2,000 for first time offenders to combat the growing problem.

The Massachusetts municipalities of Quincy, Braintree and Weymouth are losing $120,000 per year from curbside theft, said Rosemary Nolan, solid waste coordinator for the Tri Town Alliance. The towns get a portion of the revenue from the sale of recyclables from their recycling vendor, but organized groups begin hitting the streets at midnight and are done by 6:15 a.m., knowing that the first collection trucks can't start picking up curbside material until 7 a.m. due to local noise and nuisance ordinances, she said.

``Scavengers are getting there first in the middle of the nigh! t,'' Nolan said. ``Locally, there has been the theory that items placed curbside are the public domain.''

Ultimately, taxpayers and homeowners pay for the theft, Reed said. Cities lose revenue from the sale of recyclables and have to increase garbage and recycling fees to make up for it.

``We're passing the loss onto the public. It's that simple,'' Garbarino said.

In Ocean City, Md., scavengers aren't targeting single-family household curbside containers. They're smart and organized enough to go after the big haul — condominiums with large collection containers, said Steven Brown, assistant superintendent of solid waste and public works for Ocean City.

``We have got a real problem right now,'' he said.

The city gets 350,000 tourists in town on a good weekend, and a local ordinance requires condominiums with three or more units to purchase recycling containers from the city to give owners and renters an opportuni! ty to recycle.

Some 20 or so usual suspects cruise the early mornin g hours on a daily basis, hitting up the condos before city crews. And many of them don't even bother being discreet, he said.

``Most of the ones that come in here, they've got their names on their truck,'' Brown said.

But there isn't much the city can do. It doesn't have a law on the books like New York to prosecute curbside theft. The best it possibly could do is get some of the homeowners to help prosecute the thieves for trespassing, he said.

``I've begged the police to do something, but unless we see them in a city container, that's the only way we can do anything,'' Brown said.

Norcal has asked residents to send pictures and license numbers of the offending vehicles to police. The company put a form on its Web site to allow residents to document complaints, some of whom have been threatened by thieves.

``In [some] communities, the police engage and they stop this kind of activity,'' Reed said. ``But in othe! r communities, the police have not engaged, and it's expanding and proliferating.''

Police in some cities don't take the matter seriously and prosecutors don't bother bringing cases because the individual theft amounts aren't high enough, Garbarino said. He would like to propose legislation to distribute some of the unclaimed California container deposits among the state's police departments to pay for an officer to patrol the city at night specifically looking for recycling poachers.

``Otherwise, I feel like I'd like to quit now,'' he said. ``It's that bad. It's terrible.''

Contact Waste News reporter Joe Truini at (330) 865-6166 or <!-- e --><a href="mailto:jtruini@crain.com">jtruini@crain.com</a><!-- e -->


<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.midwestappliancerecyclers.com/2030087.html">http://www.midwestappliancerecyclers.com/2030087.html</a><!-- m -->

[gmg77]

Wow your really passionate about recycling. I suppose the taxpayers can be stuck for the bill if Onyx raises service charges. At ~3¢ a can I find it hard to believe that the revenue is effected much. I mean huge trucks sucking up gasoline are used to take recycling away, the purpose is not profit off the waste but the service fee charged. If these little old ladies are that effective at hurting Onyx's bottom line we should hire them to run the cities recycling program. There are far bigger fish to fry to eliminate burdens on tax payers. IMHO

[ClassicalLib17]

The first picture looks like someone who regularly posts on this forum. How can you continue to defend him, while making this an issue?

[verenablock]

The first picture looks like someone who regularly posts on this forum. How can you continue to defend him, while making this an issue?

That pic looks more like a her.