Finn’s Pilot Plan to Recycle Household Trash : L.A. Council OKs Garbage Scavenger Project

The Los Angeles City Council on Friday unanimously approved a pilot program that will authorize scavengers to search through special garbage cans throughout the city for recyclable glass, paper, metals and plastics.

The plan, proposed by City Councilman Howard Finn, who represents the northeastern San Fernando Valley, is designed to reduce the amount of materials dumped in city landfills. An estimated 15% to 18% of the trash now taken to landfills could be recycled into other products, according to Finn’s office.

Finn said his district contains the greatest number of dumps in Los Angeles, drawing 80% of the city’s refuse.

“I don’t think we can afford landfills anymore,” Finn said after Friday’s vote. “Hazardous materials are being dumped there, and our water is being polluted. We’re creating problems for tomorrow.”

Project Begins in Fall

Finn’s pilot project will involve 1,500 residences in each of the city’s 15 council districts, starting in the fall. Homeowners will be supplied with specially marked garbage cans in which they will dispose of their recyclable material. The scavengers will be authorized to take trash only from those cans.

By recycling more trash, Finn said, the life of existing landfills could be lengthened, thereby reducing the need to create new dumps. But, Finn said, officials also must find alternative ways to dispose of refuse and to convert trash into energy.

The council asked the city attorney and the Bureau of Sanitation to devise a program to license individuals as scavengers. Each licensee will be assigned a certain area of the city and will be allowed to collect refuse only on trash pickup day. Each scavenger will be required to carry a junk collector’s identification card.

Garbage Scavengers

Finn said city regulation and licensing is needed to prevent hordes of people from rummaging through curbside trash cans in residential neighborhoods. In response to homeowner complaints about garbage scavengers, the City Council in 1974 adopted an ordinance making it unlawful to dig through someone else’s trash.

In the pilot program, the Bureau of Sanitation will compare the amount of trash collected by city workers in the targeted neighborhoods with adjacent areas where the pilot program is not operating. If the project proves successful in reducing the amount of refuse dumped in landfills, the program may be expanded, Finn said.

The city is applying for a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to finance distribution of the special trash cans, which cost $8 each.