RESEDA : Council Strengthens Anti-Scavenger Law

Los Angeles is putting some teeth in an anti-scavenging ordinance that makes it illegal to steal bottles, cans and other items from the city’s curbside recycling bins.

The City Council voted Wednesday to spend $64,000 to step up enforcement of the city’s anti-scavenging ordinance, earmarking $15,000 for a police crackdown in the west San Fernando Valley in Reseda and setting aside $49,000 for a possible expansion of the police patrols citywide.

The program will begin on a pilot basis from the LAPD’s West Valley Division. If the project is successful, it will be expanded to other parts of Los Angeles.

West Valley residents have voiced more complaints about trash scavengers than inhabitants of any other sector of the city, said Eric Rose, aide to Councilwoman Laura Chick.

According to Chick’s office, which proposed the new enforcement push, the stealing of recyclables has dramatically increased in the last few months, and is costing the city $25,000 a month.

“One of the problems is that it has created a disincentive for people to recycle,” Chick said earlier. “It is also bringing in activity, trucks and people roaming around in quiet residential neighborhoods.”

The $15,000 will buy overtime that the West Valley division will use to nab bottle thieves. The low-priority law has up to now been loosely enforced by police, but that is changing.

Police could begin their sweeps as early as the end of this week, and the penalties are stiff. First-time offenders could be fined up to $500, and a second violation could trigger arrest.