Recyclable Theft

[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)