Seattle is going through your trash . . .

[t-dub]

Wow . . . just heard on the news that Seattle PAYS people to go through your trash so that if you throw away too much food they can FINE you. Fines start at a buck but can be up to $50 for apartment dwellers and, knowing government, will increase in the future. What the hell is going on here? Now don't get me wrong, I love to recycle. In fact, I'm proud that our recycle load is usually over twice what we throw away. But I just can't be down with the "green police" looking through peoples trash and then issuing citations for infractions . . . total bullshit imho.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...the-trash-in-seattle-you-ll-be-fined-for-that

 

[SpruceGruve]

I personally recycle everything possible and compost all food waste so I wouldent affect me in any way.
But I still don't agree with people going through my garbage

 

[ChippyMalone]

Now I'm freaking out because I'm pretty sure I didn't properly rinse that yogurt cup before putting it in the recycling last week, and I know my wife doesn't always take the tops off her soda bottles.

We are SCREWED!!!!!

I remember as a kid watching something that might have been on Sesame Street about recycling in which Japanese children bundled newspapers and set them out for recycling in order to receive some small paper product like a notebook or a box of tissues in exchange for their efforts.

Positive reinforcement would be a much better solution. I'd be pleased as punch if someone went through my garbage, saw that I am awesome at recycling and home composting, and gave me something like a high efficiency LED light bulb as a reward for being a good citizen. Since there would be no cost of law enforcement or need to collect fines, such a program would probably be a lot cheaper than what they are doing instead.

It's really too bad I have no political ambitions. I might be good at it. On the other hand, maybe coming up with cost effective positive solutions is not really a desirable trait in politics?

 

[djonkoman]

hmm, guess I was ahead of my time as a kid...
grew up in a village, and the paper-waste was collected once a month or so, with some men from the village volunteering for a day and a local farmer lending a tractor+flat trailer. after collecting all the paper from the village, it would be stored in big metal containers in the middle of the village, untill it was picked up by a truck from the municipality.

but, the temporary location of these containers full of paperwaste happened to be opposite to the elementary school, so for a few days us kids would climb into these containers to play, and the real prize was if you happened to find a shred of porn magazine or a shred from some catalog detailing the price and features of a blow-up doll.

anyway, they better pay those snoopers royally, paper waste is one thing but I wouldn't want to go trough my own trashcans, let alone someone else's... if I lived in seattle bI would start throwing away disgusting or weird stuff to fuck with them, maybe piles of condoms filled with tomatosauce or so.

 

[paytonpenn]

maybe piles of condoms filled with tomatosauce or so.

You will get fined so heavily for wasting that tomato sauce.

 

[Solomon]

I think the sensational headline was more intriguing than the article - which is nothing more than another recycling regulation. Really no different than all the other recycling regs in many cities.

But riddle me this...
If you are going to require citizens to separate their trash, whether it's to save money or save the environment - two perfectly reasonable goals - then how exactly do you enforce these requirements without actually looking at the trash that's collected?

You wouldn't have to look at everyone's trash - just do it like everything else - you randomly look at enough trash so the fear of possible penalties persuades most to follow the law. I still hate the notion of criminalizing someone's trash behavior.

I personally think the best way to enforce this kind of thing is ultimately the pocketbook. Around where I live, there are 3 sizes of city authorized and distributed trash bins that have 3 different costs. A good recycler can get away with a smaller bin since recyclables have no limit, while regular trash is very limited. Anything that doesn't fit in your bin requires special bags at about $1 each. If I didn't recycle my paper and boxes, I would need many extra bags. So while I am not fined for not recycling, I have been incentivized to go along with it.

@ChippyMalone - love the idea of LED bulb rewards!

 

[Vicki]

Every time I see stuff like this, it keeps reminding me.....

Now our trash isn't even private? I'm not talking about shredding important documents. Everyone knows they should do that. Your trash is your life, and tells a lot about you. It should not be open for inspection. You just know other things will be found too. What's next? Inspecting what we flush?

I'm also curious. What kind of person applies for a job like this? Who wakes up and says, "I really want to sift through trash for a living!" I bet it will be a minimum wage job.

 

[t-dub]

It looks like they have the garbage collectors doing it right on the spot. If an infraction is discovered they put a red citation sticker on your can. Fines are $1-$50.

 

[ChippyMalone]

......so for a few days us kids would climb into these containers to play, and the real prize was if you happened to find a shred of porn magazine or a shred from some catalog detailing the price and features of a blow-up doll.

On a side note, I lived next door to a small college student apartment complex during my formative years. I once found an entire garbage bags full of Penthouse and Hustler magazines. Until they were forever lost by moisture damage in my bush fort ( I had a bush fort instead of a tree house.), I was the richest fifth grade in town. I rented out issues for a quarter a day.

Kids these days have it too easy. With the most perverse fetishes just a screen tap away, they will never know the giddy feeling of reading that chapter on human reproduction in the nursing textbooks in the adult nonfiction section of the public library.

Hmm.....is anatomically correct but understated sex organ cross section human body porn a thing?

 

[Vicki]

It looks like they have the garbage collectors doing it right on the spot. If an infraction is discovered they put a red citation sticker on your can. Fines are $1-$50.

Ok, that makes sense. Trash guys get paid pretty well from what I understand.

It's still BS, though.

 

[SSVUN~YAH]

Don't quote me on this but hasn't our trash been legal to rummage through since well, forever? Cops are allowed to take evidence from trash that is on the "curb", that is also permissible in courts. I think if your "trashing" something it's no longer primarily yours, unless it falls over or an animal scatters it everywhere while on the designated spot, bc then apparently it's yours again and the garbage men won't even touch it.

 

[Enchantre]

This is the same as the small town we lived in... the recycling guys would do a quick check of your recycle bin before picking it up, and if it was full of pizza boxes/plastic bags/styrofoam, they'd leave it with a full sheet red letter detailing what is & is not okay to recycle. You were charged for the trip if you asked to have it dumped before the next regular pick up.

Neighbor across the street had red letters pretty regular.

This is pretty normal, really. Just sensationalized by the media. Media "news" is owned by entertainment companies, after all.

 

[RUDE BOY]

Fuck recycling ! The Cats litter box gets dumped on top of all other trash and the bag tied up.
Let the pricks go through it.

 

[t-dub]

Fuck recycling ! The Cats litter box gets dumped on top of all other trash and the bag tied up. Let the pricks go through it.

This is how I envision @RUDE BOY cleaning the Gritty Kitty . . .

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=235585316537256

 

[aesthyrian]

Now our trash isn't even private? I'm not talking about shredding important documents. Everyone knows they should do that. Your trash is your life, and tells a lot about you. It should not be open for inspection. You just know other things will be found too. What's next? Inspecting what we flush?

I'm also curious. What kind of person applies for a job like this? Who wakes up and says, "I really want to sift through trash for a living!" I bet it will be a minimum wage job.

I don't think your trash was ever private. Cops/Detectives look through trash often. Once it's at the curb, it's fair game, at least to my understanding?

But having your city openly practicing trash inspections is pretty ridiculous.

The only good part about this is that it hopefully creates a few new jobs, but that can be done in many ways without trash investigations. Like maybe... recreational Cannabis? I'm not sure if there is still a shortage but I remember reading about $80 1/8's when rec shops opened. Seems they need to issue more licenses, which will then create more jobs!

I recycle so much, even things that might not be recyclable, but I rather take the chance than just throw it away. In my town they have a recycling sorting center. Professionals get paid to sort through recyclables and pick out what is no good. I leave it to the experts, they can decide what's trash and what's not. It's what they are there for. I'm just a simple minded civilian.

 

[t-dub]

I don 't think your trash was ever private. Cops/Detectives look through trash often. Once it's at the curb, it's fair game, at least to my understanding?

The legal "fiction" is that since you have decided to "abandon" your property, by placing your trash for pickup out at the curb, you relinquish your right/expectation of privacy. It would be different if the trash can was inside your home or say in your back yard because then your property is still under your "control".

 

[Vicki]

The legal "fiction" is that since you have decided to "abandon" your property, by placing your trash for pickup out at the curb, you relinquish your right/expectation of privacy. It would be different if the trash can was inside your home or say in your back yard because then your property is still under your "control".

I don't think your trash was ever private. Cops/Detectives look through trash often. Once it's at the curb, it's fair game, at least to my understanding?

I thought they had to have a warrant or probable cause?

 

[t-dub]

I thought they had to have a warrant or probable cause?

Nope. Only if the trash can is in your house or a protected yard.

 

[KidFated.]

It's like they say "it's not yours because it's on the curb, so we can rummage through it. Now we are gunna fine you. Because it's yours."

 

[ChippyMalone]

I think it is really less of a big deal than anybody is making it out to be. If I'm going through the extra effort to take my alkaline batteries to the library and take paint down to the hazardous waste collection site, then it would piss me off that my neighbor is throwing away mountain dew bottles full of used motor oil.

I would bet that such a program would be impossible in a city where the vast majority of people are not sorting their trash and recyclables as well as the citizens of Seattle.

 

[t-dub]

then it would piss me off that my neighbor is throwing away mountain dew bottles full of used motor oil.

Chippy this is about excess food. They are fining people for throwing away food. And not a lot. They are counting used coffee grounds as contraband. Think about that.

 

[Solomon]

Chippy this is about excess food. They are fining people for throwing away food. And not a lot. They are counting used coffee grounds as contraband. Think about that.

It's not about "excess food", it's only about recycling. They are not trying to regulate how much food people eat or throw away - it's only about the method of disposal.

 

[t-dub]

It's not about "excess food", it's only about recycling. They are not trying to regulate how much food people eat or throw away - it's only about the method of disposal.

You are correct. Its about excess food in the trash and not in the compost bin (where it belongs) however my complaint still stands. I throw away my coffee grounds and do not expect someone looking through my trash to be fucking with me about it.

 

[RUDE BOY]

And I wonder Just how many people actually have something like a "compost bin" in the USA ? Not very common I would think as most of us have no use for compost or even want a stinking pile of decaying food around the household, doesn't seem real healthy to me.
That's what the dump is for. Isn't it ?

 

[Hashassin]

if i was aware that someone was going through my trash i would start throwing away the weirdest things i could find and i'd label each bizarre item with a haiku about sex. let the guy digging through my trash have fun with that.