Gilroy
– Aluminum can collectors who scour neighborhoods to collect
recycling are becoming a nuisance for some residents.
”
I came home last night and there was a truck parked in the
street, and there were bags in the back of the truck full of cans,
so they had obviously gone through several neighborhoods,
”
one resident complained.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – Aluminum can collectors who scour neighborhoods to collect recycling are becoming a nuisance for some residents.
“I came home last night and there was a truck parked in the street, and there were bags in the back of the truck full of cans, so they had obviously gone through several neighborhoods,” one resident complained.
The Dispatch’s Red Phone has received several calls during the past few days from people with similar complaints, or who see the scavengers regularly and questioned their right to rifle through curbside containers.
“The primary nuisance in that is that there are people scavenging in areas where they don’t belong, and making messes where they shouldn’t be making messes,” said Phil Couchee, general manager of South Valley Disposal and Recycling.
It’s also a violation of a city ordinance that prohibits curbside trash collection by anyone except South Valley Disposal and Recycling, who city residents pay to collect the contents of curbside trash and recycling bins.
Specifically, municipal code sec. 12.57 states that once recyclable materials are placed at the curbside, or other designated collection location in a designated recycling container, the materials “shall be and become the property of the authorized recycling agent.”
Couchee said his company has received complaints about scavengers, but that residents should contact police if they see someone picking up their recycling.
Gilroy police Sgt. Kurt Svardal said the department occasionally receive complaints.
“It’s not one of those things we write a lot of tickets for, but we wrote one just last month because some neighbors called us,” he said.
The infraction will cost a $100 for a first offense, $200 for a second offense, and $500 for a third offense in a one-year period.
It also is illegal for someone to collect recyclables that are on a homeowner’s property. Scavengers who go beyond the curb can be cited for trespassing.
When police do find people collecting recycling, they generally find them with “quite a bit” of cans and bottles, Svardal said.
“It does affect us,” Couchee said. “The product that the scavengers are taking are typically the aluminum cans and glass bottles that have redemption value, so it’s a more valuable product, and it does impact us from a revenue standpoint.”
That lost revenue for South Valley can in turn mean higher garbage rates for city residents.
“The ordinance we’ve structured says, once it’s out on the curb, it belongs to South Valley because all of the revenue South Valley receives goes back into that program to reduce the rates for us customers,” City Administrator Jay Baksa said.
The unauthorized collection of recyclable materials generally happens well before South Valley trucks make their collection rounds, but the company is unable to change its collection times to get to the curbside sooner.
“We’re not able to do collections before 6 in the morning” due to sound ordinances, Couchee said.
