Legal to rummage someone else's trash?

[korme]

Earlier this morning I noticed a couple of guys with a truck going through my trash, ripping the bags open on the side, and pulling out all of the aluminum cans. I wouldn't mind this except for when the rip the bags open that way, all of the rest of the trash falls out into the garbage can and most of the trash guys don't haul the actual full can into the dumptruck, they usually just grab the bags.

This makes sense as I was wondering how a raccoon was getting into our bins, tearing our bags open.

Wondering if it is legal and/or if there is anything I can do about it, aside from walking outside and telling them to stop - I'd rather not take that approach.

[Kodos]

Make sure to bag up lots of cat shit.

[MrBug708]

My trash cans are provided by the trash company and are spared into three different bins. Trash, green waste, and recyclables. The recyclables trash can has warnings about it being illegal to take things out. I doubt that police are motivated to enforce it

[Suicane75]

Shorty, if ya need money, just ask.

[Honolulu_Blue]

I put all of my cans out on the curb in paper bags. The homeless guy in my neighborhood comes by, takes all the ones with the deposit out, puts the others into the recycling bin, and then folds up the paper bag neatly and places them in the bin as well.

[Kodos]

Does anyone bother returning deposit bottles?

[Karlifornia]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Does anyone bother returning deposit bottles?

There must not be many Mexicans where you live

[cartman]

As to whether or not it is legal, it is. The Supreme Court ruled in California v. Greenwood that garbage left out for collection is public domain.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by Karlifornia

There must not be many Mexicans where you live

I meant does anyone who buys bottles with deposits bother to return them. We have our share of collectors.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Does anyone bother returning deposit bottles?

In Michigan you pay 10 cents for every bottle and can you buy. When you return them you get that 10 cents back.

I forfeit that 10 cents.

I just hate lugging all of the cans and bottles back to the grocery store, when, inevitably, some of the cans/bottles will spill out into my car during the trip, waiting in line for the machines, standing there feeding them one at a time into the machine... It's just not worth it.

[JPhillips]

Everyone should have single stream recycling and the deposit fees should be repealed. I recycle everything, but I just throw the cans and bottles in the barrel. I hate going to the redemption center.

[corbes]

Put your cans in a separate paper bag and make it easy on the dudes. Or you could up the ante and sit outside in a folding chair with a rifle and defend your constitutional right to throw out recyclable cans. Either way.

[cuervo72]

We started out with a blue recycling bucket. Had so much that we graduated to a can that is as large as our trash can. I think we're at the point that we have more recyclables than trash (though the trash is still weekly, recycle biweekly). Paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, plastic, all of it.

Deposits are silly.

[PilotMan]

I know someone who works in recycling and he says that the vast majority of stuff you think you are recycling just goes in the trash. It's just not good enough quality to mess with. So while we think we are doing a great job sorting it's someone else's pain to take care of.

[nol]

Originally Posted by cartman

As to whether or not it is legal, it is. The Supreme Court ruled in California v. Greenwood that garbage left out for collection is public domain.

This was covered in an episode of Better Call Saul. How educational that turned out to be!

[lungs]

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I know someone who works in recycling and he says that the vast majority of stuff you think you are recycling just goes in the trash. It's just not good enough quality to mess with. So while we think we are doing a great job sorting it's someone else's pain to take care of.

I've also heard, though havent substantiated, that the carbon footprint required to break down and then reform paper is much greater than the amount required to harvest a tree, turn it into paper and re plant said tree.

[JonInMiddleGA]

California v Greenwood does have some limitations however. Generally speaking the "right" to rummage only extends to public space, trespassing laws still generally apply.

The most common recommendation when this becomes problematic is to put the can on the curb as late as possible to limit the opportunity.

My more creative suggestion that might be worth a try is to get some of those hazardous medical waste bags & segregate the cans into those before putting them in the bag. Would at least worth be worth a try since what you're describing is a legit pain in the ass.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

We started out with a blue recycling bucket. Had so much that we graduated to a can that is as large as our trash can. I think we're at the point that we have more recyclables than trash (though the trash is still weekly, recycle biweekly). Paper, cardboard, glass, aluminum, plastic, all of it.

Deposits are silly.

Same here. About a dumpster of each every week. And I "compost" uneaten fruits and veggies by tossing them out into the valley behind our yard. I figure either something will eat them, or they'll fertilize something.

[CraigSca]

New York Times did an article on recycling and found most of it (except paper and metal) made more carbon than making new.

Log In - The New York Times

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by cartman

As to whether or not it is legal, it is. The Supreme Court ruled in California v. Greenwood that garbage left out for collection is public domain.

There is arguably a difference between the garbage that's curbside and garbage that is, say, adjacent to your back door, or in your garage.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The most common recommendation when this becomes problematic is to put the can on the curb as late as possible to limit the opportunity

Really depends on the neighborhood, in my previous less desirable place it didn't matter what time you put it out - there were multiple waves of people through the early hours of the morning and back at it once the sun came up. Didn't matter what time you put them out there, you could bank on somebody going through it within 15 minutes

EDIT - to add that more than once when we had forgotten to put our trash cans down, we had people come into our drive, past our cars and go through them on our property

[stevew]

I thought about taking bottles from New York to Michigan but in between gas, tolls and truck rental I couldn't crunch the numbers to make it work.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by stevew

I thought about taking bottles from New York to Michigan but in between gas, tolls and truck rental I couldn't crunch the numbers to make it work.

[QuikSand]

sensing megathread potential here...

[RainMaker]

Years ago before recycling came to my city people would rummage through the bins collecting cans. What I'd do is separate the cans in a bag and just leave them on top of the bins for the guys who came around looking. Saved them time and hassle of digging through the trash. You could even leave a note saying "Cans sorted out for you" to let them know.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

to add that more than once when we had forgotten to put our trash cans down, we had people come into our drive, past our cars and go through them on our property

Since I don't recall hearing anything about this on the news, your tolerance for that is clearly greater than mine. I'd get exceptionally Inigo Montoya about shit at that point.

[Bobble]

Originally Posted by stevew

I thought about taking bottles from New York to Michigan but in between gas, tolls and truck rental I couldn't crunch the numbers to make it work.

The bar codes would have coke-blocked you. Occasionally, the family comes up from Ohio and their transported cans will get into our can returning stream. The recycling machines at the grocery store recognize and reject out of state cans.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Bobble

The bar codes would have coke-blocked you. Occasionally, the family comes up from Ohio and their transported cans will get into our can returning stream. The recycling machines at the grocery store recognize and reject out of state cans.

(I was channelling a Seinfeld plot)

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I know someone who works in recycling and he says that the vast majority of stuff you think you are recycling just goes in the trash. It's just not good enough quality to mess with. So while we think we are doing a great job sorting it's someone else's pain to take care of.

I can see that. We try to stick to this (though pizza boxes are a judgement call).

http://www.frederickcountymd.gov/Doc...ter/View/17255

The pet food cans alone...