IRVINE : Grant to Pay for Worker to Combat Scavenging

Irvine is the only city in Orange County to win one of the state’s first anti-scavenging grants, which will be used to hire a part-time employee to patrol the streets in search of garbage thieves.

Irvine is one of 11 California cities selected by the state Department of Conservation for the grants, which will pay for projects ranging from scavenger patrols to tamper-proof recycling bins.

“Scavenging takes money away from local governments,” said Mark Oldfield, a Conservation Department spokesman. “It makes these curbside programs less economically feasible.”

Irvine will receive $21,500 to hire someone to work with police to catch scavengers. In the past, the city has used volunteers from the municipal emergency communications network to sweep the city periodically in search of scavengers.

“We didn’t realize the problem was as bad as it was until we put these people out there,” Irvine Police Chief Charles Brobeck said. “This will give us another set of eyes and ears on a more consistent basis.”

Orange County cities and waste-haulers lose nearly $1 million a year to scavengers, according to state recycling officials. Oldfield said one Orange County recycling company has estimated losses of $10,000 a month because of scavenging.

In Irvine, thousands of dollars are lost each year, city management analyst Mike Byrne said. The rise in scavenging has paralleled the increase in newsprint costs from $70 to more than $140 a ton in the past two years, Byrne said. In October, the city collected 1.2 million pounds of newspapers set out on curbs by residents.

Byrne, who works on recycling programs for the city, said the new employee will be similar to other part-time workers hired by the police.

“What I envision is someone like a meter maid who has radio contact with the Police Department and could dispatch units quickly,” Byrne said, adding that the job probably will require night work. “Most of the problems tend to happen under the cover of darkness.”