RESEDA : Chick Plan to Fight Recycling Rip-Offs

A new program to crack down on scavengers of recyclables has been proposed by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Laura Chick.

Under the proposal, to be considered by the City Council on Wednesday, police would cite people caught stealing bottles, cans and other recyclables set out for pickup by the city’s curbside recycling program.

“People are stealing from the city,” Chick said Friday. “We can’t tolerate that.”

According to Chick’s motion, trash scavenging has increased during the past few months, mainly because of recent increases in the value of old newspapers and recyclable containers. The city’s Bureau of Sanitation has received hundreds of complaints each month from residents about trash scavenging, the statement said.

If adopted, the program would be carried out on a pilot basis by the West Valley Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. People who are cited for a first offense would be fined $500, and second-time offenders would face arrest, said Chick aide Eric Rose.

Stealing recyclables from curbside bins is a misdemeanor under the city’s anti-scavenging ordinance. Violation can carry a jail sentence of up to six months. But the low-priority law has been loosely enforced by police.

Funding for the enforcement campaign would include $15,000 to pay for police overtime in the pilot program and $49,000 for enforcement activities by the sanitation bureau after the pilot is completed.

The source of the funding is the bureau’s operating budget.